A Thousand Years
by Luna-Incendia14
Summary: Percy Jackson has been having nightmares about a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes and burning cities, day after day. The doctors are convinced he's crazy and so they send him to Goode Academy, a school for "special" kids like him. Only Percy knows he's not crazy. Or is he? Soon he's wrapped up in a mystery far beyond just the school and a love that lasts for more than a lifetime
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Welcome to A Thousand Years!**

**For those of you who are new to my writing my name is Luna… Luna-Incendia14. I have another story called Heart By Heart which is also a Percabeth story. It's one of the most reviewed stories for Percy Jackson on Fanfic which is saying something I think… as well as the fact that it has only been out there for about four months. If A Thousand Years isn't really your cup of tea I suggest Heart By Heart as it is almost the exact opposite of A Thousand Years. **

**A Thousand Years is a more action, intense, mystery story with romance as well whereas Heart By Heart is more Hurt/Comfort/Romance.**

**So anyway… um let me know if you've read my Heart By Heart story… or if you're a new comer! Because everyone is welcome! **

**One disclaimer for this whole story: I DO NOT OWN! Short and sweet**

**And on with the show!**

**Chapter One**

The vow goes: "Till Death do us part."

But what happens after death? What happens when the bond is finally broken. But is it broken? Is it possible when two souls have been in love for thousands of years?

True love cannot be stopped. Even by Death.

Or can it?

o.O.o

_"You'll find me again," she whispered as tears fell down her mud caked face, her curls singed from the fire that was burning around them, the fire that was ravaging the town, that was destroying lives with just one of its burning flames, that was ending stories that had been planned for thousands of years. _

_ But all stories must come to an end._

_ The man who knelt across from her in the scalding ashes of Pompeii cupped her chin with his hands just as he had done so many times before. He tilted her head upwards so that she was looking into his eyes._

_ "I promise, I swear on the gods that I'll find you again. Even Death can't stop me from getting back to you," he said. "I'll always come back." _

_ They had suffered for so long, only to be given a few moments of peaces which were suddenly destroyed when the ash began to fall like rain on the town. How could they have known it would have ended this way? _

_ "I don't want to leave you," she said, trying to stay strong just as he was. She looked into his sea green eyes and was comforted just as she always had been when they looked at her underneath those starry skies when he had helped her climb down into the courtyard and helped her run. _

_ Run so that they could finally be together._

_ She had known the first time that her stormy eyes had met his that there was something different about him, maybe it was the tug in her stomach or the light headedness she felt, but there was something about him that made her smile every time he looked her way. They shared a secret love that should have been blessed by the gods._

_ But the sad thing with believing in the gods, is that they never wanted you to be better than them. They never wanted you to be happier. _

_ So the only way to make them suffer was death. She guessed that she knew it from the beginning; that their love was doomed in a way that the great tragedies were written._

_ The man gave her a weak smile as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. He too realized that they were fated from the beginning to die. "You don't have to," he said. _

_ They had never been more beautiful than in this moment, when the gods' wrath was pouring down on them with a heavy hand, they had never been more beautiful than in the moment when they were damned. _

_ The man wrapped his arms around her, just as he had done so many times, drawing her closer. She buried her head in his chest as the ash began to burn their skins. He pressed his lips to the crown of her head, burying his face in her curls._

_ "I'll never leave you," he whispered._

_ And he kissed her, his lips tasting like char and ashes, like Death. The kiss spoke of last chances, they knew it was hopeless._

_ As the burning ash settled on them, they knew their love was doomed. _

_ As doomed as the city of Pompeii._

_o.O.o_

The dreams weren't getting any better.

He had done everything that the doctors had told him to do. He had taken all the different pills, he had exercised until his bones turned to jelly, he had choked down every herb that they had fed him, he had tried every home remedy, he had even sprayed his sheets and pillow with lavender which was supposed to bring a peaceful sleep. All it did was make him smell like a girl.

It didn't work.

If anything the dreams got worse. It was as if they didn't want to be controlled, as if they didn't want to be kept back.

It was as if they were fighting back.

Telling him to remember something.

But the problem was. He couldn't. No matter how hard he tried the dreams just brought him nightmare after nightmare. All about him dying with a beautiful girl in his arms. Not the happiest dream.

The doctors finally had decided he was crazy or at least was becoming crazy. So they had told his mom that he needed to attend a school for "special" people like him. In other words, a school for kids that they thought were insane.

But he wasn't insane.

He knew he wasn't.

Or was he?

Lately Percy Jackson couldn't tell who he was. Half the time he was living in a dream landscape and the other half of the time he was trying to figure out what reality was. It was an incredibly hard life to live.

"Here we are Percy," Sally Jackson said as they pulled into the parking lot of a large building that looked like it had come straight out of a story book that Percy had been forced to read as a kid. It looked like a castle with large towers and great wide windows. Percy couldn't help but whistle at the impressive feat of architecture.

"See Percy, maybe this won't be too bad," Sally said turning around in her seat to smile at her seventeen year old son. Sally Jackson didn't want to leave her son at Goode Academy but the doctors had said that Percy needed it and that it would only get worse.

When Sally had first talked to Percy about the dreams, she was terrified, she would admit it freely. The dreams he described were terrifying.

There was always death. Death and fire and pain.

"Yeah, whatever Mom," Percy said, swinging open the door and hopping outside into the cold New York air. It was the middle of September, Goode Academy didn't start until tomorrow and went later into June. He unlatched the back trunk and grabbed his backpack and his duffle bag, swinging it over his back.

"Do you want me to walk you in?" Sally asked, hopping out of the car after him. Percy shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine Mom," he said, swooping down low to give his mother a peck on the cheek. "Have a safe drive back to Paul."

Paul Bolfis was Sally's boyfriend.

"You have everything?" Sally asked nervously. "No laptop or ipod or anything?" She asked. Percy shook his head.

"None Mom." One of Goode's more… peculiar rules, was that no student was allowed access to their own personal technology. A radio would be provided in their dorm room and computers would be accessible in the library but that was all. Students could bring their cellphones but they would be turned in at the front office and returned only when necessary.

Percy didn't know how he felt about that idea.

"I'll see you for Christmas?" Sally said hopefully. Percy shrugged.

"Maybe," he said.

"Be a good boy, remember these people are only here to help you," she said, hugging her son who towered above her small frame.

"I know Mom, I know," he smiled at her to try and calm her nerves. "Don't worry. After all how much trouble can I be?"

o.O.o

"Perseus Jackson," the front lady in the office said, pursing her wrinkled lips as she looked at the teenager with skeptical eyes, taking in his ripped jeans, messy hair and leather jacket. "Gods this place has gone to the dogs," she muttered, looking down at his file through her small glasses which were perched on her nose.

"It says here you've been in multiple fights, be caught stealing from stores and have… oh this is interesting, a very vivid and wild imagination which leads to hallucinations," the lady said, looking up at Percy with a gleam in her eyes. "Did I read that correctly?"

"Yes ma'am you did," Percy said.

"There's no need to backtalk to me young man," she snapped. Percy opened his mouth to argue with her, but the look she shot him made him shut his mouth.

"I'll call in Mr. Castellan, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help you get situated. And he's such a nice young man," the lady commented, pressing a button on the intercom. "Mr. Castellan please report to the front office."

"He's such a good boy," the lady sniffed as she shuffled Percy's papers together.

The door opened and revealed a tall boy with sandy blond hair and blue eyes standing in the frame. He had a mischievous smirk on his face and a long jagged scar running down one side of his face from his cheek to his jaw.

"Hello you must be Perseus Jackson," the boy said, sticking his hand out. Percy dropped his duffle bag and shook it.

"Percy," he said. "My name's Percy."

"Alright then Percy, I'm Luke. Head Boy here," he said. Then he leaned in close to Percy. "Really it's like school president, they're trying to go all Harry Potter on us, they hope it'll reform us better but we both know that's not going to happen." He straightened up. "I'll take Percy from here, lovely to see you again Mrs. Banderswich, looking as beautiful as ever."

Percy could have sworn the old cow blushed at Luke's compliment.

Outside the office and in the grand foyer Luke let down his appearance. "You've got to be nice to the old lady or else you won't get anywhere in this school. That's all it is, play your part, act like you're not crazy and you'll get out of here. Act like you're not dangerous and you'll get out of here. It's all a game of charades really," Luke said. "But enough of that, I'll show you to your dorm."

Luke led him out the door of the front hall to the lawn where there were at least twelve other buildings surrounding the lawn. "That's going to be your building for your basic courses, you know Civics, English, History all that junk," he said pointing to one castle like building. "The one over there is your combat and physical training center," he pointed to a low to the ground building that was long. "The one of there that has all those towers in the library and the one next to it is the students area, it's got the cafeteria and lounge and hang out areas. And finally the building over there is for your special studies," Luke said, pointing to a gloomy looking building.

"Special studies?" Percy asked.

"You'll see," Luke grinned. "The seven other buildings are the dorms, one for the year you're in. You're a junior so you'll be in that one over there, you stay in the same dorm for all seven years you're here, We just rotate through buildings, when the seniors graduate next year's first years will get their old dormitory."

The junior dormitory was a tall Victorian style house as compared to the log cabin which Luke said was the freshman dorms or the Modern home which was the senior's. Luke pushed the door open and Percy followed him inside.

The inside of the large home was a massive foyer with a large chandelier which seemed out of place in a school for the insane. Luke headed up a large flight of stairs, Percy trailing him. "There are three floors, the first is for the girls, second for the boys and third is for the special cases." Percy raised an eyebrow at this. "Otherwise known as the kids who can't be near others. They don't 'play nice' as Mr. D says."

"Mr. D?" Percy asked, pulling his duffle bag further up his shoulder.

"His real name's Dionysus but he hates it, guess you can't blame the guy. He was sent to be in charge of Goode because he's on probation with his father but really that's a whole other story." Luke stopped at the second floor and took a right. He stopped in front of a door with the number three nailed onto it.

"Welcome to Dorm 3 Percy," Luke said, pushing the door open and letting him step in.

The room was boring.

The walls were painted a pale blue and there was a bed jammed in one corner with a dresser and a desk on the other wall. Percy dropped his stuff onto the ground. "I thought that I was supposed to have roommates, that's what my doc said at least. I'd have two other kids stuck here with me."

Luke shrugged. "Your chart says that you wake up screaming in the middle of the night so we put you in one of the single dorms. Consider yourself lucky, you never know what creeps you're going to end up with here. And I say that in the nicest way possible. Some of us can't sleep with each other because you never know what we'll end up doing in the night when we can't remember, don't worry we're pretty sure you're not one of the super crazies," he said absentmindedly and pulled out a pocket knife and began to clean his nails with it.

Percy wondered if Luke was one of the dangerous ones.

"Thanks," Percy muttered. "Am I the only one who has crazy dreams?" He asked.

"Nah, there's a boat load of us, that's why most of us are here. But some have ones worse than others and no offense but according to your files, you're one of the worse. There's a few other people as bad as you."

"Great," Percy said dimly.

"I wouldn't worry, they'll try and help you get over it," Luke said. "Well I'll leave you to unpack. Dinner's in an hour so I'll come and get you so I can show you where to go and everything. Sheets for the bed are in the closet."

"Thanks," Percy said.

"No problem, and honestly don't sweat it. We're all a little crazy here." With that Luke winked at him and then shut the door.

Percy collapsed on the bed, feeling too lazy to make his bed. He should have known better. As soon as he closed his eyes he was greeted by new dreams.

_London 1944_

_The air was thick with smoke. It was hard to breathe from the dirt which rose into the air and swallowed everyone whole. He hacked at the thickness. He was suddenly aware of the pain shooting through his legs and stinging his lower abdomen. He let out a low groan of pain as he saw his legs buried beneath rubble._

"_Peter!" He heard a girl scream. From the smoke he saw a girl crawling towards him. "Oh gods, oh gods," she said as she leaned over him, her blond hair hanging down._

"_Your face," he heard himself saying, reaching up to touch the girl's face. It was hideous, with blood all over and bruises and glass embedded into it. "Adele your face."_

_She gave him a weak smile and then winced. "Peter you're bleeding to death and you're worried about my face? You're so stupid at times, you know that." _

_He shrugged. "I knew I was going to die anyway if I tried to come and find you. Death always seems to follow us, doesn't it," he said, sounding resigned to death._

"_You're not dying yet," Adele said, pushing her blond curls from her eyes. "I'll get you out, I'll get help."_

_He shook his head. "No… it's too late Addi," he said and then he moved his bloodied hands._

_A bullet was lodged in his lower stomach. _

_Adele choked back a sob. _

"_Blasted Nazis," he said, trying to laugh but it hurt too much._

"_Peter," Adele said, tears in her eyes, her English accent lilting through as she said his name. he always loved that about her. When he first started dreaming about her, he had fallen in love instantly._

_Then again, it was always fated from the beginning, this cycle they lived in. Dream, Reunion, and Death. _

"_Come here," he said, opening his arms for her. She crawled towards him in the collapsed room. She buried her head in his chest._

"_There's no way out of here," she whispered. The doors were all destroyed, covered in bricks and stone. The bombs had destroyed the once beautiful hotel._

"_At least we can see the stars, right?" he said, caressing her hair with his hand. The bombs had collapsed the roof and now they had a clear view of the sky._

"_Right," Adele whispered. "The stars," she said. "Just like Pompeii."_

"_And Greece," he said, kissing her brow softly as she looked at the stars. "Except there aren't just stars in the sky tonight. Try and sleep love." Adele snuggled into his side and closed her eyes. A few moments later they both fell asleep._

_And late into the night, the bomb came. Out of nowhere, swift and silent like a gunshot. It destroyed everything it touched._

_And the cycle began again._

_Dream, Reunion, and Death._

Percy jerked up from off of the mattress, a crazed look in his eyes as he took three heavy breaths, his heart pounding faster and faster in his chest as he looked around the room trying to gain his bearings. Where was he?

And then he remembered Goode Academy and took another deep breath. He wasn't in London in a broken building with bombs exploding, holding a girl that always seemed to slip out of his hands once he had found her.

There was a knock on the door and Percy scrambled off of his bed and opened the door. Luke was standing there. "Hey, you ready to go?" He asked.

"Sure," Percy said, jamming his hands into his pockets as Luke strolled down the hallway and down the stairs, Percy on his tail.

"Just ignore the strange looks you get," Luke said as they walked across the lawn to the Student's Building. "They're just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" Percy asked.

Luke shrugged. "Don't know, the fact that you got to stay out in the outside world for so long. Some of us have been here since we were eleven."

"It's not all that great out there," Percy said honestly.

"Try telling that to a bunch of kids who can't remember what a McDonald's looks like," Luke said.

"What about holidays, don't they go home?" He asked.

"Nah, most of our parents could care less about what happens to us. They're fine with us staying here. Gives them a chance to look like normal people."

Percy looked around the lawn and saw kids all heading towards the Student Hall. Some of them looked normal, like the kids he went to highschool with. Others looked less than… human. Some had pale skin which seemed sallow and weak, their eyes were sunken into their skulls and they looked sick. Percy shivered.

"What's up with those kids?" Percy asked, pointing to one girl who was slowly moving towards the Student Hall.

Luke looked at her and then looked back. "That's Olive, she's been here since she was eleven and hasn't gotten any more 'normal' as the doctors would say. Once she graduates she'll probably be moved to an insane asylum. Some of us look like that, our spirits have been broken so bad."

"Just as long as she's not a zombie," Percy said. Luke snorted.

"Nope, she's not a zombie."

Inside the student hall was a large cafeteria filled with kids all sitting and laughing around tables. Luke led Percy through the line of kids waiting for food. "At least the cooks here actually can cook," Luke said as he grabbed a slice of cake. "We don't starve."

"How many kids are at Goode?" Percy asked.

"About five hundred."

"Holy crap! That's a lot of kids," Percy said.

"No that's a lot of kids that the doctors claim are insane," Luke said. "Hey I'll be right back, I've got to go and talk to someone," he said, grabbing his tray and then disappearing into the crowd. Percy stood there awkwardly, watching him go.

When Luke didn't come back he found an empty table and sat down. He was used to it after all. At school he had gone from being the popular jock to the class weirdo once the dreams started happening. Sometimes in the middle of class he'd have a dream and when his teacher asked him a question he'd scream.

Last time he'd shouted out the name "Adelyn" after he had been dreaming about wearing armor and riding a horse.

"Hey you're the new kid right?" Percy looked up from his hamburger to see a boy with pale skin and dark black hair that hung over his eyes standing in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm Percy Jackson," he said. The boy slid into the seat across from him.

"Nice to know, I'm Nico d'Angelo, junior here," he said.

"Junior too," Percy said, looking at the boy with a suspicious eye. What had he done to get classified as crazy? Maybe it was the fact that he wore all black and a skull t-shirt with a black leather jacket.

"So where are you from?" Nico asked.

"New York City," Percy replied.

"Nico you're not supposed to start the interrogation without us!" A boy said coming up behind Nico with a tray filled to the top with tacos. He slid into the seat next to Nico and grinned at Percy. "Leo Valdez," he said. "Resident mechanic genius," he said.

"You mean to say repair boy," a girl said, sitting down next to Leo. "Piper McLean," she said, smiling brilliantly at Percy. "It's nice to meet you."

Leo had curly black hair and a mischievous grin which made Percy not trust him at all. It looked like he was going to steal Percy's cookie or pants him in the middle of the cafeteria.

Piper was a pretty girl with choppy brown hair with braids pulled through it and eyes which Percy couldn't decide the color of. "Ignore Repair boy over here," she said, nudging Leo in the side. "He goes a bit spazzy whenever there's a new kid here."

"Whatever you say beauty queen," Leo said rolling his eyes. "Where's Jason?" He asked.

"Sitting with his friends," Piper said making a face.

"And what are we? Chopped liver," Leo said.

"Apparently not friends," Piper said sourly. Her face was clouded with anger but suddenly she was grinning again. "So you're Percy right?" Percy nodded. "Welcome to Goode," Piper said, twirling a random piece of hair around her finger.

"Technically I don't think you can really welcome someone to Goode," Leo said in between mouthfuls of food. "It's not like anyone wants to be here. It's not very welcoming."

"Why are you here?" Piper asked. "What devious crime did you commit?"

"Huh?" Percy asked.

"Why were you classified as crazy?" Leo asked in simpler terms. "We're all here for a reason. Like I've run away from every foster care home I've been in because I swear on my grandmother's grave there's someone always watching me."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Yes Leo, that's called your foster parents."

"That's not what I mean and you know it Pipes," Leo said in a hushed tone. Then he looked at Percy. "Piper's here for stealing a BMW and then claiming that she didn't mean to do it and that she talked the guy into it. Can you believe her?"

"I did!" Piper said. "He asked if I wanted it and I said yes!"

"See what I mean?" Leo said. "She's crazy, this I can testify for."

"Hey! You're not the most sane person I've ever met!" Piper said indignantly.

"Yeah but we already know that and I openly admit it," Leo grinned. "Nico over here… well no one knows why he's here. Why are you here Nico?"

"I can see the dead," Nico said in all seriousness. Leo snorted and then laughed.

"That's the answer he gives us every time, can you believe this guy," Leo said. Nico gave him a weak grin but Percy had a feeling there was more to his story than he let on. "So why are you here?"

"I have dreams…" Percy said awkwardly.

Leo stared at him. "That's the reason? Heck everyone has dreams. I mean I have this great dream where I can light up in a ball of fire and then I have all these girls absolutely drooling over me," Leo leaned back in his chair, a dreamy smile on his face. "It's pretty awesome."

"Not those kind of dreams you idiot," Percy snapped. "Dreams that make you wish that you had never been born, that make you wake up in a cold sweat every night, afraid for your life. Those dreams."

"Oh… more like nightmares," Leo said quietly.

"Like Annabeth," Nico said, staring at Percy with his dark eyes.

"Annabeth? Who's Annabeth?" Percy asked.

"Annabeth Chase," Piper said, turning around and scanning the cafeteria. "She's been here since she was seven, rare exception to the rules. She's a junior so I don't hang out with her very much because most juniors hate the sophomores but I've talked to her enough. She's right there." She pointed to a girl sitting at a table full of people. Everyone was laughing except for her.

Percy's breath hitched. She was long blond curls which fell to her waist and for a split second she looked up and caught eyes with Percy. His heart pounded faster in his chest. Her eyes were a deep grey.

"Annabeth Chase," Leo said wistfully. "Most popular girl at Goode and the resident genius. Every guy wants a chance to meet her."

"Leo included," Nico said, leaning back in his chair.

"What about you Nico?" Percy asked. Nico shook his head.

"Not really my type," Nico said, whatever that meant as he stared at Percy for an awkward moment. Percy shifted nervously in his seat. What was with the staring?

"So Percy have you gotten your schedule yet?" Piper asked as she took a bite of her salad. "Do you have any classes with us fabulous sophomores?" Nico snorted at this.

"I don't know yet," Percy said, "Luke was going to help me figure out where I was going but as he's disappeared," Percy shrugged.

"Oh he hasn't disappeared," Piper said. "He's just hanging out with his girlfriend." Piper made a face at this. She seemed to do that a lot.

"Girlfriend?" Percy asked. Piper nodded and jerked her thumb back at the table where they had been staring at Annabeth. Percy turned again to look and saw Luke sitting at the table, his arm wrapped snuggly around Annabeth's shoulders. For some reason the very sight made Percy's stomach twist in anger. Why? He had no idea of course.

"He's her boyfriend?" Percy asked.

Piper nodded. "Yep, that's why she's quote unquote, 'off limits' to all other guys at Halfblood. Luke would murder you in your sleep if you even looked at Annabeth Chase."

"Great to know, thanks for the warning," Percy muttered.

"They're really close, they came here together along with another girl, Thalia Grace."

"Where's she?" Percy asked. Piper, Leo, and Nico all exchanged nervous looks to each other before looking back at Percy.

"She got sent away a few years ago, Thalia had a problem with storms. She was a little off her rocker in that sense if you get what I mean," Leo said.

"No I don't," Percy replied.

"What he means is that Thalia Grace was a storm addict. A storm rolled in here and you could find Thalia out in the water or somewhere dangerous. It was almost as if she wanted to get herself electrocuted. She claimed that she couldn't be hurt but we all know that's impossible. They tried to 'fix' her as they call it here but she rebelled against them all. She had a habit of rebelling. She was as dangerous as the storms were. They sent her to a nut house about three years ago," Nico explained.

"Oh…" Percy said, his voice trailing off. A girl like him, addicted to something that he couldn't control.

He hadn't shared it with anyone else but Percy didn't just have strange dreams.

He was an addict as well.

An addict to water.

Not that he cared to explain that to anyone else.

"So Luke didn't tell you anything at all?" Piper asked, her kaleidoscope eyes studying Percy. Percy shook his head.

"Great, that means we can show you around, including the lava pit!" Leo said happily. Percy nearly choked on his burger.

"Lava pit?" Percy asked. "What kind of a crazy institute are you running here?" He asked. Leo grinned like a maniac.

"Who knows? Sometimes I wonder myself," Leo said. "Come on, if you're done we can head to the Big House and get your schedule."

"I'll tag along," Piper said, standing up and brushing her hands on her jeans. "You coming Nic?" She asked Nico who was still leaning back in his chair.

"Nah, I'm good," Nico said. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Okay, have fun Ghost Boy," Leo said. "Let's go Dream Child. You're going to love the Big House," Leo grinned with the grin of a maniac.

That terrified Percy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Why is it called the Big House?" Percy asked as Piper, Leo, and he stood in front of the sky blue painted farmhouse which was on the outskirts of Goode's facilities. The porch around the building seemed a bit unstable and under the weather and he stepped on it a little self-consciously, afraid that it might break with every step.

Leo bounded up the steps without even bothering to wonder if it was going to break under his footsteps. "Because at one point in time it used to be the biggest house here at Halfblood but then all the other houses burned down and Goode was built up. But the Big House stood."

"Halfblood, that's the second time you've called it that. What is Halfblood?" Percy asked curiously as Piper pushed the door open for them.

"That's what this hill is called, Halfblood Hill. See a long time ago this place was a large village filled with people. They were called halfbloods because one of their parents weren't normal. This village was for people whose spouses weren't the soundest of mind if you catch my drift. So they were 'halfbloods' that's what the kids were called. They claimed to be able to do all sorts of crazy things like bend spoons just by looking at them or talk to people through their minds. They also said that they were 'born again'. In other words, in one point of time they had been someone else in history but they couldn't remember who.

Anyway, about a hundred years ago, a bunch of soldiers came to Halfblood hill, murdered all of the parents and most of the children. A few kids got away but barely any. The stories go that the hill was awash in blood so red that it seemed to scream injustice. No one would step foot on this land, claiming that it was haunted."

"Yeah one guy tried to start up a business on here about seventy years ago. He started complaining about weird noises at night and all that creepy stuff, like right out of those horror novels and stuff. No one listened to him. He was found dead three weeks later, his body tangled in the trees," Leo piped into Piper's story.

"Anyway… fifty years later they decided to start this place up. They called it Goode to attempt to 'chase' all the bad spirits away. Let's just say it's all one big propaganda story. We just call it Halfblood. So much cooler than a stupid name like _Goode_," Piper said, putting her hands on her hips. "Well I'll go find Chiron," Piper said as she disappeared through a door.

"Chiron?" Percy asked, confused.

"Yeah, Chiron, he's basically the guy that runs this place. Really it's supposed to be Mr. D but no one really cares about him. It's really all Chiron who runs this whole show of freaks," Leo said, leaning against the banister and folding his arms.

There was a loud scream in the house and Percy nearly jumped out of his shoes. "What the hell was that?" Percy asked, looking around as if he would actually find the source of the scream.

Leo chuckled. "I wondered the same thing when I came here. This place is where all the kids that are waiting to go to the asylums head to. They're too dangerous to be out there with the rest of us slightly sane kids so they come here so you never know what sort of wacked things you'll find here." Leo then leaned in slightly closer to Percy. "And plus there's an insane woman up in the attic."

"I think I read a book about that," Percy muttered to himself. "Or maybe just watched the movie for it."

"Ah you must be Mr. Perseus Jackson." Percy turned around to see Piper standing next to a man in a wheelchair. He had curly brown hair melding with grey and a scruffy beard. He wore a tweed jacket and smiled at Percy.

"It's Percy sir," Percy said, holding his hand out for the man to shake.

"I'm Chiron," the man in the tweed jacket said. "I wish I could say welcome to Goode but since you're here I'm supposing you don't want to be here. Is that right?"

Percy nodded. "I don't exactly see the point in my being here," he admitted. Chiron nodded sympathetically.

"No one really knows why when they first get here," Chiron said. "Now Piper here says that you're looking for your schedule is that right?"

"Yeah," Percy said, shoving his hands awkwardly into his leather jacket.

"Right then my boy, I'll go get it and then you'll be set for tomorrow. I trust that Mr. Castellan is showing you around?" Chiron said.

"Actually Chiron, Luke ditched Percy for his posse so Pipes and I've been showing him around," Leo said. "And we've been doing a mighty fine job of it."

Percy noticed Chiron rolling his eyes. "Yes I'm sure of that Mr. Valdez," Chiron said. "Let me go get your schedule Mr. Jackson so that you can be on your way." He then turned his wheelchair around and disappeared into the room he came from.

"Why is he in a wheelchair?" Percy asked.

Leo's mouth dropped open. "Gods Percy you can't just ask someone why they're in a wheelchair!" He said, laughing. "You're worse than I am with bluntness." Piper shoved Leo in the shoulder, a signal to knock it off.

"No one really knows why he's in a wheelchair," Piper said.

"I bet it's just the curse of Halfblood Hill," Leo said.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Really Leo, everything to you is just another horror movie or something. I think he was just born without use of his legs," Piper said.

"Here you go Mr. Jackson," Chiron said, rolling in with his schedule and handing it to him. "I believe you have all necessary equipment for tomorrow?"

"Yes Sir," Percy said.

"Good then," Chiron said, putting his hands together. "I must also tell you that tomorrow you are scheduled to meet with Mr. D tomorrow during your free period which I believe is sixth period."

Percy nodded as he stared at his schedule. What was this stuff? Battle Combat? Poison Testing? Survival Skills? And then of course there was the dreaded Pre-Calc and Physics and all that junk. Percy followed Leo and Piper out of the Big House and down the stairs, staring at his schedule.

"What is this stuff?" Percy asked.

"What stuff?" Piper asked, peering over his shoulder.

"These classes," Percy said, showing them his schedule.

"Oh look you've got Poison Testing, that's always a fun class," Leo said. "Last time I took that I nearly killed myself. Pay attention in that class," Leo advised.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Do you not have classes like this in your school?" She asked.

"Of course not. We have the regular stuff like Civics and English and Algebra and all that stuff," Percy said, shoving his schedule into his back pocket.

"Oh we have all that stuff too, that's the boring stuff. Be glad that we don't just do that stuff," Leo said as he pulled out a few screws and a screwdriver, fiddling with them as if it was perfectly normal for him to do so.

"Don't worry Percy, it's a lot of fun, you'll be fine," Piper said, patting him on the back. "But you should probably get to sleep if you want to have a good day tomorrow during your classes. I'm sure you can find your dorm from here," Piper said. Percy nodded. "Great, night Percy, we'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow then," Percy said as Leo gave him a hug since they were "bff"s as Leo proclaimed. Piper rolled her eyes and dragged Leo away from Percy.

"Night Percy," Piper called again as they disappeared across the Greens. Percy set off in the other direction towards the Cafeteria, he was starving again… A problem Percy had with the dreams was that he _lived_ the dreams. Most people said that when you dream you don't feel anything, you don't live through the pain, you just dream.

But for Percy, he felt everything. No matter how small the pain. And he did everything. He'd wake up sweaty and covered in bruises after one of his particularly ruff dreams. He'd get black eyes when he had dreamed that he had gotten beaten up by a boy in the Great Depression when the boy had stolen bread from a lady, a lady with the prettiest grey eyes ever.

Inside the Cafeteria it was almost empty. A few kids were mingling around, finishing eating their food or working on what looked like homework. He hoped that it wasn't homework. He hadn't been told that he had to do any homework before coming to Goode. At one table there was an arm wrestling competition going on between a group of guys. The two guys going at it at the time were a burly African American boy who looked like he belonged in a garage working on motorcycles or cars and the other boy was a white boy with a rainbow tattooed on his bicep. Percy stared at the two of them, wondering what the two of them had done to get into this crazy place. What had anyone done to deserve this school?

"It's not polite to stare," Percy turned around to see a young girl with curly brown hair that fell to her shoulders and pretty cinnamon eyes, sitting on one of the tables looking at an apple curiously. She looked young, younger than Piper and Leo and definitely younger than Percy.

"I wasn't meaning to stare," Percy said. "Just thinking."

The girl hopped down from the table and looked at Percy curiously. "I used to do that a lot too but then I realized that sometimes it's bad to let your mind wander where it shouldn't go. I learned that the hard way about thirty years ago."

Percy took a cautious step backwards. What did she just say? Thirty years ago? She couldn't be older than fourteen years old. "Excuse me?" Percy asked.

She grinned at him, showing off perfectly white teeth which were a contrast to her dark skin. "Thirty years ago. It caused my death back then," she said casually. _Well now I know why she's here_ Percy thought to himself. "You haven't happened to see Frank have you?" The young girl asked. Percy stared at her as if she was insane… which she probably was.

"Um… no, no I haven't," Percy said.

"Oh well, I guess I'll have to find him myself," she handed Percy her apple. "It was nice talking to you Percy." And then she wandered out the door, leaving Percy to stare after her curiously.

What had just happened?

Did he even tell her his name?

"Her name's Hazel, Hazel Levesque," Percy turned around to see Nico leaning against the wall. "She's a curious one Hazel is, but I love her for it."

"She's your girlfriend?" Percy asked.

"Oh gods no. She's my half-sister," Nico said.

"What did she mean by she died thirty years ago?" Percy asked Nico. He shrugged.

"No idea, no one really knows. But I guess that's why we're all here isn't it?" Nico said. "No one really knows who we are or where we come from. Well I'll see you tomorrow," Nico said, pushing off the wall and disappearing out of the Cafeteria. Percy watched him go and couldn't help but wonder about Hazel Levesque and her strange attitude.

_July 4 1863_

"_AHRG!" He moaned as he clutched his leg with his two hands, he lay on the ground, writhing in pain as he rolled in the dirt. He had managed to drag himself away from the fray of Gettysburg, leaving behind a long trail of blood only to collapse in the middle of the forest in a heap of pain. "DAMN IT!" He yelled again to no one in particular. He grabbed at the ground with his fingers, trying to distract himself from the ache in his leg from where the bullet had been lodged. _

"_Lord," a soft voice said. He managed to roll over to see a girl sitting proudly atop her horse, staring at him in horror, her mouth open. He could only imagine what she would be thinking, seeing him in a blue uniform. She probably would run and find her father if he was still at home and shoot him. After all she was probably a part of the Confederate. He probably had gone farther into Confederate territory than he should have._

"_Help," he croaked before he blacked out and succumbed to the pain. _

_He woke up in a bed._

_Gods he hadn't slept in a bed in how long? He was used to lying on the rough ground in a tent or even just under the stars, a thin mat as his only protection from the sticks and rocks. Him and his friend Gabriel used to try and clear the ground before they slept but sometimes they were far too tired from that day's march and would just collapse in a heap._

_He tried to sit up, his head throbbing in pain. His leg was tightly bound in white linens, obviously used as a makeshift bandage "Careful," a soft voice said as a hand pressed a wet cloth against his forehead. "You drool in your sleep did you know that?" An amused voice said. He focused his eyes to see the pretty girl he had seen earlier standing over him with a smirk on her face. She was really pretty, with long golden curls, half of which were pinned behind her head. Her face was tanned from working out in the sun but the most startling thing about her was her eyes. Large and deep grey, they seemed to be calculating the best way to take him down if it came to a battle. _

"_I didn't know," He croaked. She smirked again._

"_Are you hungry?" She asked. "With all of the blood you lost I have a feeling you would be." She reached over for a bowl which was beside his bed. "I made soup, not that it's that good. I've never been one to cook. I have a tendency to make sure everything is perfect or else I throw it out." She shrugged. "But I think that it's pretty good." She dipped the spoon into the bowl and then held it up to his lips. He barely managed to take a sip of it. His lips were dry and his throat was parched. The soup felt amazing against his throat._

"_Thank you," he said again._

_The girl smirked as she leaned over with a handkerchief and wiped the soup which had spilled out of the corner of her mouth. "I'm Ada by the way," she said._

"_Pax," he said. _

"_That's a weird name," Ada said, studying him as he lay on the bed._

"_It's short for Paxton."_

"_Still… weird name," she said. "What were you doing in the middle of the forest with a bullet wound in your leg?" She asked, continually feeding him some of the soup._

"_I was shot."_

"_Well I got that much, I mean why did you desert?" Ada asked. "You were in the army right?" He nodded. "I thought so, it was clearly evident by your blue uniform." He was surprised by how she managed to say the blue uniform without a hint of resentment in her voice._

"_I got tired of all the fighting," he said, shrugging and then wincing, his shoulder still wasn't in the greatest shape since he had broken his collar bone a few weeks ago in combat. _

"_Let me guess you weren't very good at it were you? Always was the one that got close to being killed?" Ada asked. He shook his head._

"_No usually I was the one doing all of the killing, I have a really good shot," he said quietly._

"_Oh…," Ada said. "How long have you been in the Union Army?" She asked. _

_He shrugged. "Since the beginning, I'm twenty-eight right now. It's been a long, long time. And there's only so much bloodshed that a single man can take."_

"_I'm twenty-eight too and I'll tell you this, I've never had to fight but I'm getting tired of not eating sugar," Ada said. "Cannot ya'll just end the war already?" He eyed her strangely. She certainly was a strange girl. She just cared about not having sugar?_

"_Are you married?" He asked. Ada laughed._

"_Oh Lord no, imagine me, Ada Corrin married. That'd be a laugh, I think this whole town would go to my wedding just to make sure that I wasn't lying," she said. "No, I've prepared myself to be an old maid for the rest of my life. Apparently I'm too smart for my own good."_

"_That might be a problem," He said, laughing a little and then stopping. It hurt to laugh too hard._

"_Careful," Ada said again as she stood up. "I do have two brothers in the army, their names are Bobby and Matthew. They're not my full brothers, only my stepbrothers. My mama died when I was younger and my stepmother, a real cow if you ask me, died three years ago. No loss there," Ada said with no shame. "My papa was a general in the army under Lee himself but he was shot in the arm and had to have it amputated. Oh well, now he's home."_

"_Your father's here?" He asked, struggling to sit up._

"_Of course, I wouldn't bring a man into my home if I was here alone," Ada said as if the very idea appalled her._

"_But… but I'm… I'm not from around here if you understand me…" He said, his voice trailing off._

"_Of course you're not," Ada said, rolling her eyes. "But if I didn't help you then I basically would be aiding to your death and I promised a long time ago that I wouldn't kill someone so I had to help you. Papa didn't ask many questions when I brought you here on my horse."_

"_That's good," He said._

"_Of course, he knows that you're a Union soldier but Papa isn't a bad man. He wants this war to end just as much as I do," Ada said. "Now I suppose that we can talk about this later but I have to go downstairs. You should get some more sleep… Pax," she said, shaking her head at his name. _

_He watched her go and he couldn't help but think that she was familiar. That he had seen her before._

_Such as in a dream._

_Suddenly before him there was fire and men on horse backs, firing guns. He held a dead girl in his amrs, her head lolled to one side, her once vibrant grey eyes shut for the last time, a red stain of blood flowering on her pretty white dress, their perfect day ended. A man was looking down at him sneering from atop his horse. "Ada! Ada!" He yelled._

_But it was no use. Ada Corrin was dead and soon Paxton Jonathan would be as well._

"Ada! Ada!" He yelled in his sleep. He was suddenly awoken by a girl shaking his shoulders, staring down at him. Percy jerked his eyes open and found his gaze being met with two large grey eyes.

He jerked up in his bed and pulled his sheets over his bare chest. What the hell was a girl doing here in his room?

It was Annabeth Chase.

"What the heck are you doing in here?" Percy asked, staring at her as if she was crazy, which she probably was being as she was here.

She stared at him with those calculating grey eyes and then smirked, similarly to how Ada had smirked at Pax in his dream (or was it at him since he was Pax?) "You drool in your sleep," she said and Percy felt his blood run cold. She tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder and then headed out of his room, shutting the door behind her.

"Stupid girl," Percy grumbled to himself as he climbed out of his bed and looked at the time. It was two in the morning. What the heck? Why did she wake him so early? And more importantly why did she wake him up at all? How did she even get into his room? As far as he knew, girls weren't allowed in the boys' dorms and vice versa. Why was Annabeth Chase, the girl whom Piper and Leo claimed to be the perfect angel of the school, in his room?

Percy grumbled some more to himself before laying back down and pulling his covers up to his chin, closing his eyes.

He had to remember to wear a shirt to bed from now on. Just in case Miss Chase decided to make another appearance to his dorm.

"Good morning Sunshines," Leo said as he came and plopped down next to Percy at the table where they had sat yesterday. Percy was picking at his blue pancakes which he had been shocked to discover they even made. Piper looked like death warmed over, apparently all of the showers had been used that morning so she was stuck with hair that seemed to be sticking up at all different angles. Nico looked… well like death itself but that wasn't new. "You all look right as rain."

"Emphasize on the rain part," Nico muttered as he stabbed moodily at his bowl of cheerios. At the same time Piper told Leo to shut up. Leo continued to grin happily to himself.

"So how was your first night here at Halfblood Percy?" Leo asked. "Please pass the Tobasco sauce." Percy handed the bottle to Leo who then proceeded to drench his scrambled eggs in it. Piper looked like she might hurl.

"Uneventful," Percy said, shrugging. "I did have an early morning wakeup call."

"Oh really? I've never had one of those. I thought that they tended to let us miss our first classes just so that they can laugh at us while we run laps for being late to class," Leo said contemplatively. "What time did they wake you up at?"

"Two am," Percy said with a slight groan. Usually he didn't mind waking up early but two am was just a little too early in his books.

"Holy Hephaestus! Who in their right mind would wake you up that early?" Leo asked. Piper grunted at the comment about people being in their right mind which caused Leo to tell _her_ to shut it.

"Annabeth Chase," Percy said. "And then she promptly went on to tell me that I drool in my sleep."

"You got Annabeth Chase to go into your bedroom and you haven't even talked to her once? I must know your secrets!" Leo said, appraising Percy as if he was a god or something. Nico rolled his eyes.

"That's kinda weird," Piper admitted. "Girls aren't usually allowed in the boys' dorms. Before the rules were made a few kids tended to get a little… serious. One of the reasons they were here, a few of us have a really bad, bad habit with… well doing it. Why people think that's crazy I have no idea, I mean look at some of the celebs," Piper said, trailing off, her eyes slightly glazing over, still exhausted from last night. She had been up late with a boy, not that they had done it of course. Piper was far more sensible than that.

"That's what I thought," Percy said. "Well not about the whole… _it_thing," he said awkwardly. "But about girls not being allowed in guys' rooms."

"It's probably because she's perfect Miss Annabeth Chase," Leo said. "But still, if she was to show up in mine and Jason's dorm…" his voice trailed off.

"Jason?" Percy said, anxious to change the topic.

"Yeah Jason Grace, he's Thalia Grace's little brother, remember the girl we were telling you about yesterday? I bunk with him and Frank."

"Frank?" Percy asked, suddenly looking up from his pancakes. "That was the name a girl I was talking to yesterday mentioned."

"Oh don't tell me you were talking to Hazel," Piper said, rolling her eyes. "No offense Nico of course, I know she's your half-sister and everything but that girl is a little… off her rocker. More than normal. I think she has something like Alice In Wonderland Syndrome or something like that."

"No it's something else, Elise Good has A.W.S, Hazel has something different," Leo said.

"Well anyway, whatever she has, she mentioned a guy named Frank," Percy said. "That she was looking for him. Who is he?"

"Just my roommate," Leo shrugged. "He's a little weird but then again, aren't we all? Maybe that should be our motto at Goode: We're All a Little Weird in Life, You're Just the Weirdest," Leo chuckled at his joke but no one joined in with him. "Sheez, tough crowd today," he muttered to himself.

"So what's your first class today Percy?" Piper asked.

Percy pulled his schedule out of his back pocket. "Um… Combat Training," he said. He looked at the three other teens. "What's that?"

Leo's face lit up. "Oh you'll like that class, that's the class where you want to die in a hole and stay there for the rest of your life."

"Sounds promising," Percy shrugged.

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousand**

Promising was the perfect word to describe Combat Training. It was a promise for bruises, cuts, broken bones, and possibly even death if you tended to be the sort of person who thought that glass was half empty and all that junk.

Percy stood in a large gym, plenty of mats spread around the floor and large cutouts of words which made Percy feel nervous as he read them: The Wall of Terror, Five Hundred Pushup League, Knocked Out a Person for a Day Club and such. Percy wasn't sure that he wanted to have his name put under those signs. When he was little it used to be you got your name under a sign if you ran or more walked fifty miles in a school year. Punching someone so hard that their nose bled did not feel like an accomplishment.

Percy looked around the room at the other kids that were with him. They were all leaning against the walls, chatting with friends or cracking their knuckles as if in wait of the next person they were going to get to beat up. Percy felt his stomach twist in a dozen knots. Some of the kids looked downright dangerous. One girl with stringy brown hair looked like the Hulk… on steroids.

"Alright cupcakes, circle up," a man with short stubby legs, leaning against a baseball bat yelled through a megaphone at the kids. He was swinging a whistle around on its rope, attempting to stare down all of the students. Except he was too short so it ended up more like… staring up at the students?

"Welcome back to another year at Goode, I'm sure you're all as excited as I am," the man grunted. "And for those of you who're new, welcome to Combat Training. I'm Coach Hedge, you can address me as Coach or sir. Anything else will result in punishment." He swung his bat as if demonstrating what he would do to them. Percy resisted rolling his eyes at the small man.

"For those of you wondering, Combat Training is a pass/fail class, in other words for those of you with small minds, you either get to move on to the next class or you stay here with me until you can manage to throw a decent punch."

"What if we don't believe in violence?" Everyone turned to see a girl swaying on her feet as if she was standing on a boat. Her face was sallow with deep black circles under her eyes. Percy guessed that she was new like him.

Coach Hedge grinned. "Well then cupcake, I'd be prepared to fail this course." He then turned to his clipboard as if dismissing her all together. "Today we'll take it easy. One on one combat on the mat. Winner gets five minutes more for shower time."

A cheer went up among the students. Apparently shower time was coveted at Goode. Hedge scanned his list. "First up Chase... and…" his eyes fell over the students and then landed on Percy. He flinched.

"And Jackson."

Percy turned to look at Annabeth who was standing the in the corner, her arms crossed. She glared at Percy but stepped up onto the mat where Coach Hedge was standing. Hedge looked at Percy. "Well come on Jackson, we don't have all day."

Percy nervously walked to the front of the gym. What was he doing? He'd never taken a Combat Training class! Those classes weren't exactly offered at his old school. Sure he was agile and quick and had better reflexes than most people but he wasn't sure that would prepare him for a fight against a girl who looked like she could go six rounds with Thor and still survive.

"Alright Cupcakes, let's get this show on the road," Coach Hedge said gleefully. As he walked by Percy he whispered some last words of encouragement. "Good luck Jackson, she's never lost a fight. Usually has 'em knocked out within two minutes tops."

Percy swallowed. Great. Just great. He was already dead meat.

He turned to Annabeth, cautiously raising his arms to protect his face. He had no idea what he was doing. What sort of school had crazy people fight each other? It was like the Hunger Games on steroids.

Annabeth landed a punch on his shoulder. He let out a groan of pain. Damn that girl could pack a wallop. "Holy crap what do you eat in the morning? Raw eggs?" Percy asked as he dodged out of her next punch.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "For someone who's on the verge of getting beaten up, you sure do have a lot of smart remarks." She jabbed to his lower stomach and he spun out of the way.

"If it keeps me alive, I'm not complaining," Percy said, rolling out of the way of her next throw. Damn it, did this girl never give up?

"I haven't lost a fight," Annabeth said almost in a saucily tone.

"There's always a first time," Percy shrugged. Annabeth snickered.

"No… I'm pretty sure there's not," she said, her grey eyes ablaze with fury. She kicked upwards landing a well placed foot in Percy's stomach. He dropped to his knees and clutched his gut.

"What the heck was that for?" Percy asked.

"I always win," Annabeth said, shrugging. And then he saw her fist coming towards his face a little too late.

And everything went dark.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"Ow, ow, ow!" Percy moaned as the nurse in the Infirmary placed an icepack on Percy's bruising jaw. Percy had to clench his fists to keep himself from spewing a whole bunch of curse words which would have gotten him kicked out of any Catholic school.

"You're going to have a pretty nasty bruise on your jaw for the next few days," the nurse said as she clucked her tongue impatiently. "Be lucky it's not broken."

"What kind of a place is this where kids can get beaten up on a daily basis?" Percy asked, holding the icepack on his jaw to try and keep the swelling down.

"A crazy place," the nurse said shaking her head.

"Are you crazy?" Percy asked innocently. The nurse looked at him with malice in her eyes and she shook her head.

"Of course I'm not crazy!" She said spitefully, "I just needed a job. Can't say the same for you. Do you always ask people if they're crazy?"

Percy shrugged. "Eh, sometimes," he said.

"Get out, just get out," she said pointing to the door. She disappeared into another room, shaking her head as she mumbled something to herself.

"Thanks for the help," Percy muttered as he grabbed his backpack which someone must have brought for him. He apparently had been knocked out for half an hour. And they called that a short time. Apparently Annabeth Chase usually knocked people out for two hours at a minimum.

Fishing his schedule out of his back pocket, Percy let out a groan, Pre-Calc. Why did he have to go from one class where he physically got beaten up to another class where he would be mentally beaten up?

Percy would be the first one to admit it; he was not the smartest kid there was. Back at his old school he was known for his swimming abilities, not his ability to get extra credit on a Civics test. As far as he could remember he'd never gotten anything higher than a C- in anything academically. Sure he aced PE class, but PE didn't get you anywhere in life. You didn't get scholarships for just one PE class. You got scholarships for being the next neurosurgeon when you're only fifteen.

Percy blamed it on his ADHD and his Dyslexia. Okay so maybe he was a bit lazy as well… but that really wasn't his real problem…

His Pre-Calc class was in the large castle like building Percy had first gone into when he had arrived at Goode. _The building with the old cow in the front office_ Percy thought with a sour taste in his mouth.

He was five minutes late to class, having gotten lost in the building and ending up in the American Sign Language Class instead.

When he opened the door he was instantly the center focus of twenty pairs of eyes, including the eyes of a very wrinkled, very old woman who looked as if she might fall over and cease to breathe at any moment. Percy was hoping that someone knew CPR in this class because he wasn't going to be the one performing it on that lady.

"Perseus Jackson," she said. Her accent was strange, maybe Southern? A very deep, deep Southern accent. And was she wearing a leather jacket? A leather jacket with a faded floral print dress… perhaps it was her attempt to act like the hip population of teenagers at the school.

"It's Percy actually," he said. "Sorry I'm late. I got beat up in first period and had to go to the Infirmary and then I got lost and-"

"I do not wish to hear your excuses Perseus Jackson. I expect you to be on time to my class. Please take a seat."

"Okay…" Percy said. "Where would you like me to take the seat to?"

The whole Pre-Calc class bursted into a fit of laughter, Percy grinned. The teacher snapped her face towards the students who all proceeded to look down at their desks or up at the ceiling as if there was a secret message in the small dots scattered on the ceiling tiles.

"I will not tolerate boys who make me a laughing stock," she said with a voice so sickly sweet Percy wanted to hurl. "Consider that a warning Perseus Jackson and go sit down."

Percy sauntered to the only open seat, one in the back next to a boy who was wearing a Rasta cap with curly hair peeking through underneath and who had a the faint wisps of a goatee. He grinned at Percy.

"Man that was the best thing I've seen since the food fight at the end of the year and Mr. Campbell got pegged in the face with a sandwich," he said.

"Thanks, it looked like this room needed something to make it more cheerful. It looks like someone died in here."

"That someone would be Mrs. Dodds, the devil of Halfblood. I suspect her soul died a long time ago."

"Along with her sense of humour apparently," Percy muttered as he pulled out his math book, 400+ pages of torture.

"I'm Grover, Grover Underwood," he said. "Junior here at Halfblood. Been here since year one when my foster parents started thinking I was a little wacked."

"Percy Jackson, junior, new student," Percy said.

"Mr. Underwood is there something you and Mr. Jackson would care to share with the rest of the class?" Mrs. Dodds asked from the front of the classroom, she drummed her fingers on her desk, staring at the two of them with milky blue eyes. Percy watched as Grover shrunk lower into his seat.

"N-no ma'am," he stuttered and unless Percy was imagining it, Grover let out a bleating sort of sound.

Like a goat.

"Then please keep your words to yourself unless you would like to share them to help edify the education of your fellow peers," Mrs. Dodds said. Grover nodded, terrified. Mrs. Dodds nodded, satisfied. She turned around to write something on the chalkboard.

Percy wondered just how big Goode's budget was if they still used chalkboards. Or maybe it was Mrs. Dodds preference, considering just how old she was.

"For those of you who do not know, my name is Mrs. Dodds. I believe in making sure my students know what pain is. I will push you to your breaking point nad I assure you some of you will break."

"Sounds like a happy teacher," Percy muttered to himself.

This was going to be a long class.

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"I don't think I've ever been so sore in my life," Percy said as he sat down at the table at lunch, an icepack on his shoulder. Nico came up behind him and set down his tray for him.

"We just had Agility work," he explained to Piper and Leo. "We were working on the Obstacle Course and he was doing fine… until we got to the Lava Pit."

"Oh I was going to show you that!" Leo said glumly.

"It's name is very misleading," Percy muttered as he took the icepack off of his shoulder and then studied his bruising shoulder. "It's not a pit, it's a rock climbing wall with lava spilling over the top. That kinda causes you to freak out when you see lava falling towards you."

"He fell off of the wall, landed on his shoulder," Nico said.

"Ouch," Piper said. "If it helps it's not real lava, it's synthetic. Contrary to belief there are standards here. The state of New York didn't allow Mr. D to get lava here so he settled for synthetic. It still burns like crazy though."

"Good to know," Percy muttered.

"So how did everything else go today?" Piper asked.

"I got beat up by Annabeth Chase in first period, got in trouble with Mrs. Dodds second, nearly killed myself by eating hemlock in third, and fell off of a rock climbing wall with lava… excuse me _synthetic_ lava," Percy said sarcastically. "The only class I didn't fail in was surprisingly enough English class though I did almost fall asleep."

"That's not as bad as Leo's first day," Nico said. Leo looked up from his plate and began shaking his head furiously. "Leo nearly set the whole science department on fire."

"How did that happen?" Percy asked.

Leo turned slightly red in the face. "Um… well… I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm kinda… well only a little… I… I'm a pyro," he said.

"As in a pyromaniac?" Percy asked. Leo nodded.

"There's something about fire… It just sort of turns me on… like a hot girl," Leo sighed.

"I think there's something wrong with him," Percy stage whispered to Piper who snorted.

"Took you this long to figure that out?" She asked.

A bell rang in the cafeteria, signaling the end of lunch which of course came too early. "Oh shit," Percy said standing up too fast and letting of a groan and rubbing his sore back. "I've got to get to the Big House."

"Have fun and try to not die," Leo said.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Percy said rolling his eyes as he headed out of the cafeteria. As he did so he felt someone's eyes on him. He turned around for a moment and saw Annabeth standing up from her own table and staring at him, a curious look on her face. For once it wasn't one that looked like she wanted to kill him, it looked as if he was an old friend that she knew.

"Hello Percy," Percy turned around to see Hazel coming up to him, her voice slightly dreamy. She was holding a book in her hand and an apple in the other. She seemed to like apples.

"Hi Hazel," he said. She smiled at him.

"Would you like to walk with me to the Big House?" She asked, tucking a curl behind her ear and looking at him with her pretty brown eyes.

"You're going to the Big House too?" Percy asked as they began to walk across the greens. He could almost hear people whispering about them and pointing at them. Percy shrugged them off. He was used to being thought of as weird. And he was pretty sure Hazel wasn't the weirdest person at Goode.

"Of course, I always go to the Big House to visit my friends during my free period," Hazel said calmly.

"Your friends?" Percy asked, confused. Hazel smiled at him.

"They're all dead of course or they don't remember me, so I have to look at their pictures. Why is it that no one remembers who they are except for me? Oh well I enjoy talking with them," she said. Percy felt his stomach drop. What was she talking about?

"That's… nice Hazel," he said uncomfortably.

"Really? I think so to," she said. "Well enjoy your talk with Mr. D, he enjoys Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi but really it all depends on his mood," Hazel said, waving to Percy as they entered into the old farmhouse. Hazel waved goodbye to him as she headed up the stairs, disappearing from sight.

"Was that Miss Levesque?" Chiron asked as he rolled his wheelchair into the front entry way and looked up the stairs.

"Um yeah," Percy said. "She went to go and talk to her friends whatever that meant." Chiron sighed.

"Such a lovely little girl, it's a shame that no one believes her," Chiron said. He looked as if he might say something else but then dismissed it. "Well I believe you're to talk with Mr. D is that right?"

"Yes sir," Percy said.

"Mr. D's supposed to meet with every new student but he rarely does. I try to make him meet with the most… peculiar cases," the older man said as he wheeled out of the room and gestured for Percy to follow him.

_Great, now I'm one of the weirdest cases here_ Percy thought to himself as he followed behind the man in the wheelchair.

"Mr. D," Chiron said. "Percy Jackson is here to meet with you." They entered into an office which looked like a wreck. Clothes were thrown all over, the desk was filled with old, crumpled cans of soda, papers were scattered all over, some pinned down by a random knife in the wood. The head of a leopard was mounted on the wall above a fire place. The room was lit by a musty light and the garbage in the corner was overflowing, causing the room to wreak like dead fish. Percy's nose wrinkled from the smell.

A man was asleep on the desk, his hand crushing a can of Diet Coke, his curly hair obscuring view of his face. He was snoring. Percy shifted nervously where he stood. Chiron sighed and picked up a random book which was lying on the floor and was as thick as the dictionary. It looked as if it was being used as a weight to hold down a stack of wine catalogs. He dropped the book on the desk right next to the sleeping man's head.

The man startled away, grabbed the can of Diet Coke and threw it straight at Chiron, causing the soda to spill all over his face. Chiron sighed and took out a handkerchief and cleaned his face as if it happened every day.

"Sorry 'bout that old horse," the man said, his words slurred. Percy would have guessed that he was drunk except for the fact that he didn't see a single beer can or bottle of wine.

"Mr. D Percy Jackson is here to talk to you. He's a new student here at Goode, remember," Chiron said, looking sternly at Mr. D as if he was one of the students.

"Ah yes… Peter Johnson," Mr. D said, looking at Percy.

"Um actually it's Percy Jackson," Percy corrected.

"No, I'm pretty sure that it's Peter Johnson, or was it Paxton Jonathan," Mr. D said tapping his jaw as if trying to remember. "Which one was it last time? Or was it neither? Were you someone else?"

"I… I'm sorry sir I don't know what you're talking about," Percy said, trying to hide his discomfort, how did Mr. D know about the people in his dreams?

"No of course you don't," Mr. D said dismissively. "Well sit down, just pull up a chair, toss whatever's in it wherever. I'm not one for organization."

"Clearly," Chiron mumbled from his wheelchair. Mr. D glared at him as Percy found an old rocking chair chair that looked like it was going to break if he even sat on it. He tossed a stack of old records off of it and sat down.

"Hmm good choice, was a favorite of Martha Washington," Mr. D said as he nodded approvingly of Percy's choice.

"Um… okay," Percy said.

"So I suppose I've got to get this over with isn't that right?" Mr. D said sighing. "Welcome to Goode Academy where we work hard at breaking all of your little spirits so that you're not the same when you believe… oh did I say that out loud?" Mr. D asked, a small twinkle in his eyes. "Anyway, here at Goode we are dedicated to your mental health and to helping you become a saner person so that maybe one day you'll be able to be accepted back into society like a normal person."

"Um… that's good," Percy said.

"Now you might be wondering why we have such interesting courses for you to take, the reason behind it is quite simple. It's the perfect way to get out your anger and also get endorphins while you exercise. And endorphins, I'm told, make you happy and happy people don't do stupid things," Mr. D said as if reciting from a script that was stashed somewhere in the office.

"So we hope that your time here at Goode is a 'good' time," he said, making quotations in the air. "And that you know that we strive to do everything to help you become a normal human being. If you have any questions, don't ask me." Mr. D stood up and walked to the fridge in the corner of the room and pulled out another soda can. Percy watched the slightly pudgy man who resembled one of the those angels that you saw a lot in babies' rooms. What were they? Oh yeah cherubs. He turned around and plucked at his cheetah print shirt with two fingers.

"Chiron I really need to get my dry cleaning," he said and then he saw Percy still sitting there in his chair. "You haven't left yet?" He asked.

"Um… I didn't know that I could," Percy said.

"Of course you can. I don't think that you want to become a permanent resistant in my office, I'm sorry but I don't believe you'd go with the decorating style," Mr. D said sarcastically. Percy jerked up out of the chair.

"Sorry, I'll just be getting out of here then," he said, heading out of the door.

"Strange kid, I always liked him when he was Parker Jameson," Mr. D said as he closed the door behind Percy.

What did that mean?

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"You've got to be kidding me."

Percy looked up from where he was sitting in the library at a table, tapping his pencil against the wood and looking around at the labyrinth of books. He didn't think that there could be so many books in one room, heck he didn't even know there could be this many books in general.

"You're my seventh period?" Annabeth Chase was standing in front of his table, holding a stack of books in her arms. Her hair was wild and her cheeks were red and Percy guessed that she had just finished a class that was outside.

"You're my Greek and Latin tutor?" Percy asked incredulously. Annabeth sighed and plopped down her books across from him and then sat down.

"I guess so, why fate is so cruel I have no idea," she said.

"Thanks," Percy said.

"You're welcome," Annabeth said sardonically. "Nice jaw."

"I think that it's a pretty great fashion statement too," Percy said. "Glad that you agree with me." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Are you always this annoying?" Annabeth asked.

"No. Usually I'm more so," Percy grinned.

"This is going to be a long year," Annabeth groaned.

"You're the one that said it, not me," Percy agreed.

"I suppose we should start with the basics then, since I'm assuming you've never taken any Latin or Greek before," Annabeth said, pulling out a thin book.

"It's all Greek to me," Percy joked. Annabeth rolled her eyes and shoved the book towards Percy.

"This is my dumbest book that I have." Percy glared at her. "Don't worry it has lots of pictures for you." She gave him a brilliant smile that made Percy's heart almost skip a beat but he shoved that feeling aside. This girl was nothing but annoying with her princess curls and know-it-all attitude.

"Surprised that you even carry it with you then," Percy said. "Or is it like a security blanket for you. Can't go anywhere without your picture book."

"Honestly Jackson, that was one of the worst comebacks I have heard in a long time," Annabeth said. "You could at least try to give me something snarky to work with."

Percy shrugged. "Well apparently I'm stupid so I shouldn't have any good comebacks now should I?"

"Di Immortals! Just read the damn book," Annabeth said, throwing her hands in the air.

"Did you just cuss in Greek?" Percy said. "Usually I'd say that that is completely nerdy but coming out of your mouth I'd have to say it's slightly hot."

"And I'd have to say that if you try and flirt with me one more time I will punch the living daylights out of you," she retorted. "Now open up the book."

The rest of the lesson continued like that, sarcastic comments being fired back and forth, Annabeth rolling her eyes at Percy, Percy attempting to flirt with her even though he told himself that he didn't mean it at all.

When the bell finally rang, Percy slammed the book shut. "Finally, I don't think I could read another word."

"And I don't think I could handle another minute in your presence," Annabeth said, snatching up all of her books.

"Let me help you carry those," Percy offered. Annabeth eyed him skeptically. "It's the least I can do for you taking the time to teach me," he said honestly. "I swear that I won't drop your precious books."

Annabeth sighed. "Fine, you can help me." She handed him half of the books. "But if you drop them…" she warned, not finishing her sentence.

"I know, I know, I won't remember my name," Percy said. Annabeth nodded "Where are we bringing them?" He asked.

"Just to my dorm if you don't mind," she said. The two of them headed out of the building and towards the Junior Dormitory. Inside the Victorian styled house kids were lounging around on couches in the main room, chatting or working on their first day of school homework. When Percy and Annabeth entered the room grew quiet. Annabeth scowled at them all as she led Percy to her dormitory.

She pushed open the door to Dorm 6 and Percy stood there awkwardly in the hallway, afraid to enter. "Well come on in," she said, setting the books down on her organized desk. In fact her whole room was freakishly organized. The only bed in the room was neatly made and her open closet revealed clothes that were organized by color.

"I didn't think that guys were allowed in girls' dorms," Percy said awkwardly.

"Oh gods it's not like the floor's going to fall out from beneath you if you come in," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

"You never know at a place like this," he said, coming in and putting the books on the desk. "I mean I didn't exactly expect someone to come into my room at 2 am and wake me up just to say that I drool in my sleep." He gave Annabeth a look as if to tell her, 'Why yes that was you who did it'.

Annabeth looked at him like he was crazy. "Someone actually did that? Who?" She asked, sounding completely shocked.

"Oh don't act like you don't know," Percy said, rolling his eyes. Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"I honestly don't know what the hell you're talking about Jackson," she said, heading to the closet and pulling out a sweater.

"Maybe you don't…" Percy muttered to himself as Annabeth pulled the sweater on over her short sleeved shirt.

"Well if you only wanted to talk about your imaginary friend who visits you at night, then I'm sure you can go find someone else who also still has imaginary friends. Your friend Leo seems to be the perfect fit," Annabeth said dryly.

"What do you have against Leo?" Percy asked defensively.

"Nothing. People just annoy me, he annoys me," Annabeth said, shrugging as she headed out of her room. Percy followed behind her.

"Do I annoy you?" He asked, jogging to catch up with her long strides. Annabeth snorted.

"Please Jackson, you annoy me the most," she said, pushing the door open to the outside of the Dormitory and jogging across the field, leaving Percy to stand there in utter confusion.

"What did I ever do to you!" He yelled across the field at her.

But she was too far away to hear.

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"So Annabeth's your tutor?" Piper asked as they headed across the greens towards a large pit in the ground and inside the pit were bleachers built into the ground, a walk way circled around for kids to find their seats and climb up and down the stairs. Apparently it was "campfire" time. Once a week on a random day there'd be a campfire which was mandatory for all of the students.

Well all of the students except for Leo and a few others.

None of the pyros were allowed at the campfire. Instead they were stuck in the cafeteria discussing their feelings and their obsession with fire. Usually it ended up with each of them trying to outdo everyone else with their fire making skills and seeing who could burn the biggest thing.

Leo was the champion right now.

Whoever had decided to stick a bunch of pyromaniacs together in the same room needed to be checked for their own sanity and tested to see if they should be forced to attend Goode.

"Yeah and it makes for a pretty awkward session. We spent most of the time fighting with each other," he said, picking at a stray piece of lint from his hoodie.

"Well that's progress. At least she's not beating you up anymore," Piper pointed out.

"Uh huh," Percy said. "Where's Nico?" He asked. The pale boy had seemed to disappear from the afternoon sets of classes. He wasn't at dinner either. Piper shrugged.

"Sometimes he likes to go off and do his own thing," she said. "I wouldn't worry. The teachers are all a little afraid of him."

"Why what's wrong with him?" Percy asked.

"Honestly it's a little creepy. Leo refuses to believe it's true as he can't see how someone can have such a disease but Nico has it. It's called Cotard Delusion. It basically means that he thinks he's dead or something like that."

Percy's blood froze for a moment. Nico thought that he was dead? "How is that even possible? Doesn't he know that he's alive and breathing? I mean the rest of us are."

"I'm not sure how it works but apparently he thinks we're all dead too or something, like we're all in the After Life," Piper said, her brow furrowing. "But it's nothing to judge him on. I mean it's not his fault he's crazy."

"What about you Piper do you think you're crazy?" Percy asked, staring at her. She turned away and refused to answer.

The campfire area was filled with all sorts of kids, ranging from eleven years old to some nineteen year olds. The fire was already lit and blazing and everyone sat uncomfortably in their seats, shifting nervously. Piper and Percy found a spot towards the top of the bleachers between two kids, one of which looked like he was going to fall asleep and the other who looked too hyper for her own good, like she'd had one too many espresso drinks.

"Hey you're Percy Jackson aren't you," Percy turned around to see a boy with golden hair and blue eyes staring down at him. He was surrounded by a group of kids, all wearing what looked like to be designer kids. _So even rich kids are crazy_ Percy thought _Well that's a no brainer, society has known that for how long?_

"Yeah," Percy said, sticking his hand out for the guy to shake.

"Jason Grace, pleasure to meet you," he said, smiling an award winning smile that could have gotten him a job in the commercial industry, advertising toothpaste.

Percy saw Piper out of the corner of his eye mocking Jason. She glowered at the ground and crossed her arms.

"Ah come on Pipes," Jason said. "Lighten up a little, or will Leo be the only one lighting things… on fire." He laughed and everyone laughed with him. "Well I'll see you around Percy. If you ever want to hang out with my friends and me, let me know." And then he sauntered off.

"Who was that kid?" Percy asked.

"Jason Grace," Piper mocked. "Remember, he's Leo's roommate along with Frank. He used to be mine and Leo's best friend and then… well… ninth grade came and let's just say we're not friends anymore."

"Why what happened?" Percy asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Piper said, her voice cold so Percy left it at that. Something had happened between those two and he wasn't sure he wanted to be on the receiving end of Piper's wrath. Something told him that she wasn't just another pretty face.

The campfire was pretty lame as far as Percy was concerned.

Two boys who looked like they were brothers if not twins got up and decided to tell their attempt at a horror story which involved a king getting eaten by pastry. "The Stoll brothers," Piper said, still moody about the whole Jason incident. "They have split personalities as well as being expert pranksters," she said.

"Nice to know. I've always wanted to meet someone who was like Gollum," Percy said. A boy turned around from three rows in front and looked straight at Percy.

He nearly jumped out of his seat.

The boy looked terrible, with large lamp-like eyes and barely any hair on his head. He widened his eyes to look at Percy and Percy had to bite his tongue to keep from yelling.

"That's Wayne," Piper said. "He's a senior and has a tendency to lash out in angry spasms. Ironic that you should mention Gollum, that's his nickname."

Percy shivered. This place was getting weirder and weirder.

After the campfire was done, all the students trudged back to their dorms. Percy said goodnight to Piper and then headed into his own dormitory and to his room. Inside he kicked off his shoes, pulled on his sweats, tossed his books which he had been using to attempt his homework off the bed and plopped down. He leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

Just as he was about to drift off there was a thud against the wall near his window. Percy flipped out of his bed and looked outside. All the students were supposed to be in bed as it was curfew.

But as he looked out he could have sworn he saw a white owl, flying crookedly away from the window.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Percy woke up with a start from his dream about the son of a rich noble and a peasant girl who had fallen in love. He had a feeling he knew how the dream would end, they would die. As it was the girl had already been tortured for falling in love with someone other than the prince of the land who had claimed her while she was still young. Percy had awoken right when another punch was to be landed on her face by a scream. He sat up in his bed.

Someone else was in the room with him.

He looked over and nearly fell out of his bed. Annabeth Chase was sitting at his desk, her legs crossed and her arms folded in her lap. Her hair was wild and she wore a panicked expression on her face. Percy's brow wrinkled in confusion. "What are you doing in here?" He asked her but she didn't answer and instead stared at him again, her grey eyes searching his face as if to make sure that he was really there. She nodded, as if satisfied with what she saw and then stood up, hugging her waist with her arms.

"You're still alive," she said and then she turned towards the door and opened it. Percy reached up to grab her and succeeded in grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around. He then stumbled backwards at what he saw.

Close up, he was able to see her face. On her face was a large bruise which he was certain was not there yesterday.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked. As far as he knew no one had managed to land a punch on Annabeth Chase ever. Annabeth shrugged and turned around, not responding. Before he could stop her she had already fled out of the room and down the hallway, Percy watching her go, his mind spinning in mystification.

And then he realized something.

Annabeth's bruise was right where the girl in his dream had been hit.

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

The next day, Percy was just finishing his lunch with Piper, Leo, and Nico when someone unexpected showed up at their table.

"Well would you look who it is," Leo said, grinning. "Halfblood's own princess, Ms. Annabeth Chase. Come to actually take me up on my offer?" He asked, sounding a bit too hopeful for his own good. Annabeth rolled her eyes and then stared at Percy.

"I'm supposed to show you to your appointment," she said, folding her arms and glaring at him. "I wouldn't want to but I'm under orders by Chiron to attempt to be nice to you." She spat out this last part like it was going to be a serious challenge for her.

"You know, you could start with a smile, smiling is always a nice way to start a friendship," Leo suggested.

"This isn't a friendship, this is an acquaintance," Annabeth said, glaring at Leo. Piper was staring at Annabeth with a funny expression on her face before she turned back to her salad. "Are you ready to go? I have better things to do with my time then wait around for you to finish your lunch."

"I hate it when she uses big words," Leo muttered, sinking into his seat. Nico rolled his eyes at him.

Percy shoved his peanut butter and jelly sandwich into his mouth and then stood up, grabbing his backpack from off of his chair. "Ready," he said. Piper grimaced and pointed to her own mouth.

"You got something here," she said. Percy felt his face turning red as he furiously wiped his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Annabeth rolled her eyes and then turned on her heels and strolled towards the doors of the cafeteria.

"Good luck buddy, don't die," Leo said cheerfully.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Percy said, shoving Leo out of his seat.

"Are you coming Jackson?" Annabeth called from across the cafeteria causing dozens of students to turn and look at him. Percy muttered something under his breath as he stalked towards the front door after Annabeth.

"So where exactly are we going?" Percy asked, hurrying to catch up with Annabeth who was determinedly setting off across the greens, her head held high as if she was trying to balance a golf ball on her chin.

"You've got your first appointment this afternoon," Annabeth glowered. It was obvious that she didn't have the greatest feelings about whatever this appointment was.

"What's that?" Percy asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and checked her watch on her wrist. "It's how the government determines if we fit their definition of 'normal'," she huffed. "We all have an appointment once a week, some of us have more than that depending on just how 'crazy' we are." She made quotation marks in the air with her fingers as they continued walking.

Percy was about to reply when a husky voice interrupted them. "Well! A newbie!" Percy watched as Annabeth clenched her fists so tightly that they turned bone white.

The girl Percy had seen in his Combat Training class was sauntering towards them. Her stringy brown hair was pulled back with a blood red bandana. She wore camo pants and a white tank top which showed off her biceps which were big enough to have their own social security numbers. Percy also noticed she hadn't taken the time to change shirts since this morning when she had broken a kid's nose and had gotten blood splattered all over.

She was probably the second most terrifying fighter here, right behind Annabeth. But whereas Annabeth was cold and calculating and a little bit manipulative when she fought, this girl, the hulk on steroids, was flat out brutal. She preferred to beat up someone by smashing their face with her fists which were probably the size of a regular person's face. Annabeth was tactical in her fighting, she only hit when necessary and when she hit, she hit to kill. This girl hit for the fun of it.

Percy was thankful that he didn't have to fight her today.

"Why don't you go lift some damn weights or something Clarisse?" Annabeth said with a sigh.

"Sure," the hulk said, grinning a grin so wide that it revealed several teeth which were absent and several teeth that looked fake. "So that I can beat you in class."

"_Erre es korakas!" _Annabeth exclaimed. Percy's brow furrowed: Go to the crows? Was that some sort of heinous curse in Ancient Greece or something? Maybe Greeks were terrified of crows or something. "You don't even stand a chance."

"I'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her voice sounded a tad uncertain, as if she wasn't very confident that she could fulfill that threat. Not that Percy could blame her. Having already been on the receiving end of Annabeth's punches, he probably would bet on her winning in a fight between the two of them, no matter how vicious Clarisse looked. She turned towards Percy. "Who's the runt?" Percy resented being called a runt. He was just as tall as Clarisse, just not as muscular.

"Percy Jackson, meet Clarisse La'Rue," Annabeth said, waving her hand in the air. "Daughter of Mars Ares."

Percy blinked. "As in the wrestler?"

"Yeah you got a problem with that?" Clarisse sneered.

"Nope, not at all," Percy said. "Just noticing the family resemblance: ugly faces."

Clarisse took a step forward but a group of girls grabbed her from behind, holding her back. She seemed to compose herself for a moment before glaring at Percy.

"We've got an initiation ceremony for newbies like you," Clarisse growled. "Been a tradition for years. I'll show you."

"Clarisse-" Annabeth warned.

"Stay out of this one princess," Clarisse growled. Annabeth rolled her eyes and looked towards Percy.

"It's okay, I've got this," he said. "You don't have to worry about me."

Annabeth snorted. "I'm not. I'm wondering how much work it'll take to scrape you off of the ground. I'm on a very busy schedule and I don't like wasting it doing unimportant things."

"Thanks for the confidence boost," Percy said, rolling his eyes. Annabeth shrugged and spread her palms out as if asking what more he expected from her. She took a step back from the fray.

Percy dumped his bag on the ground and then got in a fighting stance. But before he could land a punch, Clarisse had him by the neck and dragged him towards a long cinder-block building which Percy knew was the common bathroom for kids to use when their own bathrooms broke down or if they didn't have time to run back to their dorms.

Percy was humiliated. Usually he could fight or grapple his way out of any death grip thanks to plenty of training in New York City public schools but he had to admit that Clarisse had one stellar death grip.

Percy was hoping that the girls' bathroom (where he was currently being dragged towards) would smell better than the guys' half did but his luck wasn't holding out.

If anything it smelled worse.

Clarisse, with the help of her lackeys, pushed him towards a stall. Annabeth stood in the doorway and Percy was surprised to see there was almost a pained expression on her face as she watched what was happening. He was sure that she would have joined in if asked.

There was no way Percy was going to get a swirlie. He was a junior not a twelve year old for crying out loud!

Percy's mind was whirling. He threw a quick jab with his elbow to Clarisse's gut and then slipped out of the way, landing a kick on her back. Clarisse let out a grunt and then a growl and whirled around.

Percy grabbed the nearest thing possible.

The shower handle.

He cranked it to the highest temperature possible, grabbed the shower head which was detachable and aimed it at Clarisse. Scalding hot water poured out of the head and he managed to completely drench her and her friends. He dropped the shower head, jumped out of the way and headed towards the door where Annabeth was waiting. He was surprised to see that in the process of drenching Clarisse and her friends he had also managed to drench her as well.

Not that he wasn't sorry. Call it payback for nearly breaking his face.

Annabeth was staring at him with wide grey eyes. "What?" Percy asked as he stared at her confused face. She shook her head and then stripped off her drenched wind breaker.

"Nothing," Annabeth said. "You just remind me of someone…"

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"So Mr. Jackson would you like to tell me why you smell like a bathroom," the scrawny man who sat across from Percy in the cell like room asked him. After the bathroom incident Annabeth had led him to the gloomy looking building which was a low to the ground building that looked like it was going to fall apart at any moment. But inside it was like a state of the arc lab. Annabeth had checked him in at the front desk where they had stabbed him with a needle and had drawn his blood.

"See you later Jackson," Annabeth had said before leaving him alone with a woman who didn't look all too human. She had led him underground.

Yeah that's right, underground.

Apparently all of the appointments took place underground in a basement like facility. It was a long hallway with at least a dozen doors on either side. The unhuman like woman had shoved him into the small cell like room where he was currently sitting. He had spent about ten minutes staring at the poster of a cat in a field of flowers that was supposed to somewhat brighten up the room he was guessing, but it didn't.

It made it gloomier.

"Because I got into a fight," Percy told the man who was vigorously taking notes on every damn word he said.

"So you have anger issues," the man said as if this was an interesting new development.

"No."

"No?" The man said, staring at him with those milky white eyes that weren't normal at all. "But you just said that you had gotten into a fight."

Percy shrugged. "If a fight constitutes as anger management issues then I'm pretty sure that everyone would have anger management issues."

"Suffers from denial," the man said, nodding to himself and scrawling something on his sheet of paper. Percy rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair looking at his nails out of sheer boredom. _What was the purpose of this meeting?_ He thought to himself, other than the obvious boring him to death.

"Okay Mr. Jackson, time for a nap," the man said, standing up and snapping his binder closed.

"Wait what?" Percy asked, sitting up straight now. He was pretty sure that he didn't want to take a nap right now.

"Part of coming to Goode is that we test your mind to see what's causing all of the problems. If we can get to the root of your mental illness then maybe we can fix it at the root," the man said as he stuck a key into one of the cabinets on the wall and unlocked it. He rummaged around in it before coming out with a needle attached to a serum of sorts. Percy automatically flinched back.

"It's okay Perseus, this won't hurt at all," the man said as he walked towards him.

Lies.

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"_Pierce, Pierce." He rolled over, his arms aching as he tried to cover his eyes from the streaming sun that was running over his face. It was morning and yet he want to keep sleeping because morning meant death. Morning meant the end of everything. "Pierce, please wake up," a familiar voice begged. He opened his sea green eyes to see Amèlie looking down at him, her blond curls hanging on the side of her face. She gave him a weak smile, her grey eyes betraying it, filled with terror. Pierce sat up, leaning his back against the stone walls of the cell where they were. _

_They had been placed here three days ago after their trial. _

_Where they had been found guilty._

_Guilty of what you might ask? Pierce himself did not know. He was an Englishman who had come to France at the wrong time, searching for a girl who had haunted his dreams. He had found her, Amèlie D'Aulnais, the daughter of a rich French aristocrat and had fallen in love with her. They had planned to leave France in order to return to Pierce's home country of England but they had not been fast enough,, they had been caught by a Lucas Carvier, Amèlie's fiancé before she had left him for Pierce. Amèlie's family had been accused of treason against the country of France and as a result Amèlie and Pierce, whom was guilty by association, had been brought before the courts of France. They had been found guilty. _

_And today was the date of their execution. The means of destruction? La Guillotine. _

_Pierce took his lovely fiancé in his arms as she rested her head on his chest. He could hear her heart pounding fast. Amèlie had always been braver than many of the weak French aristocratic women but Death was a terrifying idea. _

"_I suppose we should have been expecting this," Amèlie whispered in the dank cell, her fingers absent mindedly tracing patterns on his chest. He could feel her fingertips through the thin shirt that he had been given. "It happens like this every time."_

"_But I still would not want it any other way," Pierce said. But she spoke truth. Both had remembered just two days ago. Remembered that the only thing for them in life was death. Thousands of years had passed and they had lived in many of them and yet every single ending of their story was one word: Death. And the French Revolution would not change that pattern. _

_They sat there for they did not know how long. But every minute together seemed like a blessing. _

_And then the door jangled and lurched open. Pierce felt Amèlie clutch his shirt with her hands as two guards entered into their small cell, their booted feet brushing up against the straw on the floor of the cell. "Time to go," one of them spoke gruffly in French. _

_Pierce asked for merely five more minutes. The men complied. Perhaps they felt some sympathy towards the two lovers who could not be together. _

"_Will you be alright?" He asked Amèlie. Her grey eyes hardened for a moment and she bit her lip and nodded. "I love you, remember that," Pierce said, taking cupping her chin with his hands. Amèlie nodded. "And think of it this way. You will live again."_

"_It is unfair," Amèlie said, her voice shaking a little. "Why us? Why us out of the countless other people who populate this world?"_

"_Because Fate knows that we are the strongest," Pierce said. "Because Fate knows that we are the only two with a love strong enough to find each other again."_

_Amèlie__nodded and then stood up. "I suppose I should go to the chopping block with my head held high, just like the D'Aulnais that I am," Amèlie said as she brushed off the random pieces of hay from her dress. Pierce stood up after her and plucked a long piece of straw from her blond hair. _

"_I love you," he said, placing a tender kiss on her cheek. Amèlie smiled at him. _

"_I love you two."_

"_You'll be fine?" Pierce asked, studying her with his sea green eyes. Amèlie sighed and put her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes and giving him _the look_. The look which she had given him every time he asked her that question, no matter what body she was in._

"_I will be fine," Amèlie said. "I'm a brave girl, trust me."_

"_I know," Pierce said, grinning at her._

"_Do not forget it," she said, reaching up to straighten Pierce's shirt. She then nodded her head in satisfaction. "If I do not get to say this later, then I suppose I will see you in a couple dozen years." _

"_See you then," Pierce said, trying to act calm but really his heart was racing, it was threatening to jerk out of his chest. His mouth felt thick as if it had multiple woolen blankets on it. He was really going to the chopping block. His hand absentmindedly trailed upwards to his neck. He prayed that Amèlie didn't notice but of course it was no use, Amèlie__always noticed everything that he did. She gave him a small smile._

"_It will be okay," she promised him. _

_The old wooden door creaked open and Pierce couldn't help but wonder how many times in the past years that that very door had opened and delivered the news to so many different prisoners that their time had ended, that they were on their way to the chopping block, that there was no more time for them. _

_It was a terrible thought, knowing that your death was coming and knowing when and yet not knowing at the same time. It causes your stomach to twist into millions of little knots and it keeps you from thinking straight. The knowledge of death had haunted men for so long, ever since the Fall. Death had become the only weakness in man. Because along with death comes all other sins because you lust after all earthly pleasures to make your short life happier than it is._

_But happiness is so hard to achieve. _

"_Time to go," one of the guards, the older of the two said, his blue eyes softer than the other soldier's. Pierce was thankful that the older soldier was the one to take Amèlie. He didn't trust any other men with his fiancé. _

_Amèlie kissed the tips of her fingers and then wiggled them at Pierce, their symbol of love ever since the first time that they met thousands of years ago, when she had fed him through a crack in the wall by means of her fingers, dipping them in soup and then letting him lick the soup off of her fingers. He had been a starving boy who was willing to do anything to eat and she was willing to give him the food he needed. _

_The younger of the soldiers led Pierce to a large stone room where there were at least a dozen other men. The first thing that Pierce noticed was the lack of hair on their heads. Their long, elegant locks that all of the aristocrats of France were proud of lay scattered across the floor. A man leaned again the only chair in the room, holding a pair of scissors, long and glinting dangerously in the small light that peeked in through a window. _

_The soldier led Pierce to the chair where he sat down. The man pulled out the ribbon Pierce had used to tie his crazy raven black hair back with. "It's to make sure they can get a clean cut at the neck," the man said. "So sad that you have to die again. I thought that maybe you would have gotten your happy ending this time Patrick. But then again it is the French Revolution so there's not much hope for a happy ending."_

_Pierce's brows furrowed. "It is Pierce, Pierce Carton," he said. "Not Patrick."_

"_Oh my mistake," the man said as he began cutting off Pierce's hair. "Patrick, Paxton, Perseus, Pierce, they're all the same to me. Should be the same to you too, same person of course." The man began humming a drunk tune as he cut Pierce's hair. He reached over for a swig of something in a bottle, took a long gulp and then set it down, belching slightly. "Not as good as the real stuff of course, but it'll do. No wine for a thousand years sure gets to you."_

_Pierce felt as if he might explode. What was this stranger talking about?_

"_Who are you?" Pierce asked as the man snipped off the last piece of his hair that covered his neck. Pierce ran an awkward hand through his hair, turning to look at the slightly potbellied man with curly hair. _

_The man shrugged. "Around here they call me Bacchus for my ability to drink and throw good parties, you can call me D." _

"_D?" Pierce asked. _

_The man shrugged. "Why not, then again you won't be calling me it for much longer." He then studied Pierce. "You honestly don't remember me?" Pierce gave him a strange look. "Amazing, simply amazing. They said that you wouldn't but I didn't think it would be this bad." He then clapped his hands gleefully. "Well have fun and try not to die," the man said with a wink and then he stood up, motioned for Pierce to stand up, took his chair and his bottle and walked out of the room. _

_Pierce watched him go. _

_For the next ten minutes Pierce sat on the stone floor of that room under the watchful eyes of three soldiers. Eleven other men sat around him, some looked terrified, others looked resigned to their fate, and a few had their heads bowed and were praying. Pierce snorted, it was as if they were still praying that they could get out of here. It wasn't going to happen._

_There was a reason it was called a death sentence. _

_And then the time came. _

_The dozen men were loaded into a tumbrel along with twelve other women, all of them crammed together. Pierce was almost thrilled to find himself sitting next to Amèlie. He was angered to see that her long beautiful blond curls had been cut off and now she only had choppy wisps of what was once the equivalent of gold. She gave him a small smile as one of the soldiers came and tied their hands with coarse rope. Pierce wondered why they did it, it wasn't as if they could escape. The tumbrel's would roll down the streets of Paris and the mob would surround them, there was nowhere to run. _

"_Will you hold my hand?" Amèlie asked him, as she glared defiantly at the soldiers. Pierce already knew that she had analyzed this whole situation to try and see if there was a way out but she must have come to the same conclusion he did, there was no way out. _

_Pierce didn't answer but instead managed to maneuver his body so that he could take her bound hands in his. He raised her bound and chaffed hands to his lips and kissed them softly. "It will be alright," he said. Amèlie rolled her eyes._

"_I know Pierce, you have told me it a dozen times now," she said. "But thank you for caring."_

_Their tumbrel and four others rumbled down the cobblestone streets of Paris. They were third in line. _

_As they got nearer to the heart of Paris were La Guillotine had been stationed, Pierce could almost swear that the cobblestone streets were beginning to run red with blood. Blood that was a mix of both the guilty and the innocent. But in the mind of the mob which was Paris, the innocent were as guilty as the guilty. Which was strange because many people whom they slaughtered where their fellow believers in La Revolution. _

_People jeered at the tumbrels as they rattled down Death's street. Some threw rotten food, others rotten words. "I do not blame them," Amèlie whispered to Pierce as she looked at the sea of angry faces, the very faces who were about to kill her. "They are angry. And angry people do crazy things. Anger is one of the greatest evils if not the greatest. But they have suffered injustice and they want revenge. This is their revenge. This in their eyes is justice."_

"_What the people want, the people get," Pierce agreed as he moved to shield Amèlie from tomato which was thrown at them. It spattered against him and some of it landed on her cheek. She laughed a little which made Pierce quirk his eyebrow at her. She shrugged._

"_It's kind of funny you have to admit," she said. Pierce rolled his eyes at her which caused her to laugh even more. The other people in the tumbrel stared at her as if she had gone insane. Maybe she had. But insanity was one of the best worlds to be in when you are near Death. It is only the insane who can look Death in the eye and not be afraid. Because courage often is insanity. _

_The tumbrels finally stopped their long climb to the center of the city where a large area had been cleared of people for them. A few women sat in rocking chairs near the guillotine, knitting away as if they were watching their grandchildren. The first tumbrel was emptied. _

"_One," one of the ladies counted as the freshly cleaned blade fell. Amèlie buried her head in Pierce's shoulder._

"_Two…. Seven…. Thirteen…" the counting continued steadily as the tumbrels in front of them were emptied. "Twenty-four… twenty-seven…" Pierce prayed that Amèlie went before him. As much as he would hate to see her die, he would not wish for her to be left after him. "Thirty."_

_One of the men came and gruffly grabbed Amèlie. She stubbed out of the tumbrel and was placed in the line. Pierce's heart was beating as he was place two people behind. "Thirty-three." Amèlie had reached the steps leading up to the guillotine. Pierce noticed with pride that while everyone else was nervously shaking, she stood up tall and proud. "Thirty-six." Amèlie had reached the platform and only two people stood in front of her. Pierce was on the stairs. _

"_Thirty-seven." Amèlie turned and looked at Pierce, their eyes met and she held up her bound hands, kissed her fingertips and then managed to wiggle them one last time. Pierce did the same as Amèlie was shoved forward. "Thirty-eight."_

_A man pushed Amèlie down onto her knees and Pierce watched with sickening horror as he touched her in a way that a man should not touch a woman. It was sick that he was getting pleasure out of Amèlie's final moments._

_She bowed her head. _

_The blade fell and Pierce turned away. _

"_Thirty-nine." _

_Pierce felt his heart die in that moment. He almost pushed himself in front of the other men just to get it over with. He could not go any farther. _

_A soldier pushed him up and everything was in a daze. He could swear that he saw Amèlie's form in front of him, clothed in light. She was smiling at him. He smiled faintly back as he set his head down where he was supposed to. _

_And then he closed his eyes._

_The blade began to drop. _

"_Fourty…"_

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

Percy woke up with a yell. He jerked up off the bed where he had been laying and looked around the room, a crazy, feral look in his eyes. The doctor stared at Percy from where he was standing across the room, looking at Percy as if he was a wild beast or something. His milky white eyes scanned Percy and then shook his head. "Yes I do believe twice a week," the man said as he scrawled something down on his clipboard and then stared at Percy some more. "That was certainly interesting," he finally said before clicking his pen and setting down the clipboard.

Percy just stared at him.

What had that man seen about his dream? It was so real, so lifelike. He could feel the blade just beginning to touch the back of his neck. He ran his fingers through his hair and he realized with a sudden jolt that his hair was slightly shorter and choppier than it had been from earlier that morning when it was beginning to hang past his ears. He casted a quick glance at the man and then shook his head.

No the man wouldn't give him a haircut.

Would he?

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"Percy." Percy looked up from where he had been sitting on the dock which was led out into the lake which was near Goode. Grover had shown it to him after their math class that day. There was something about the lake and the calm water that seemed to sooth him from his crazy dream which was too close to reality for his liking. The Head Boy of Goode, Luke Castellan, aka the boy who had ditched Percy on his first day, was ambling towards him, his hands lazily tucked in his pockets and a crocked grin plastered on his face.

But Percy noticed it was slightly strained.

"Hey Luke," Percy said as he pulled his legs out of the water and pulled his socks on and began to lace up his shoes. "Did you need something?" Percy asked, standing up so that he stood at his full height. There was something about Luke that was a little… offsetting.

"How have your first few days gone for you?" Luke asked politely as if he had to ask every new student how their first week was going. He looked at Percy with those crazy blue eyes and there was a certain anger behind them.

"They've been fine," Percy said with a shrug.

"I've heard you've made friends with the kleptomaniac, the pyro, and the dead boy," Luke said, folding his arms.

"If you mean Piper, Leo, and Nico then yes I have. And as head boy I thought that you would know their names. You know since it is your job after all," Percy said. Luke glared at him. His once friendly attitude that Percy had seen only a few days ago had completely disappeared into a mask of anger.

"Annabeth told me about what happened in the bathroom," Luke said.

Was that what this was all about? The bathroom? "Look I'm sorry if it caused trouble or something, I was only defending myself," Percy said, spreading his hands out as if trying to show that it wasn't his fault.

"Don't ever touch my girlfriend again," Luke hissed and Percy looked at him confused for a moment.

"What?" Percy questioned him. "Clarisse is your girlfriend? You sure know how to pick them," He said, attempting to go for the humor aspect. Bad choice.

Luke delivered a firm punch to his face. Percy stumbled backwards, off balance and fell off of the dock and into the water. He felt the cold water surrounding him and drenching his clothes, pushing him down into the murky water. He thrashed for a moment, having been taken completely by surprise. But once he had gained his wits about him, he pushed himself forwards and broke through the surface of the water, gasping for breath.

"What the hell was that for?" He demanded, glaring at Luke as he treaded water.

"Stay away from Annabeth," Luke said and then he turned and stalked off. Percy had to resist giving him the finger as he pulled himself out of the lake and onto the dock where he flopped down and spread his arms out, his wet shirt sticking to the wood. He panted a little, the shock from the cold of the water getting to him. He stumbled up and began to wander back towards the Cafeteria, hoping that he could find something warm to drink.

"Did you decide to go for a swim Percy?" Percy cocked his head to one side to see Hazel suddenly walking in stride with him. Funny, he didn't hear her approach. "I hear that there are nymphs in the water. Did you see any nymphs Percy?" She asked, looking at him with her wide eyes.

"Uh… I don't think I saw any nymphs," Percy said incredulously. Hazel gave him a knowing smile.

"That's good. Nymphs tend to be a little silly at times and can cause so many problems. How was your appointment today?" She asked.

"How did you know about that?" Percy said, staring at the younger girl.

"Oh I heard you screaming while I was there," Hazel said, waving her hand in the air. "Mr. Edgar got very worried about what was going on in your room. Are you fine?"

"I'm fine," Percy said. "It was just a dream. Do you ever have dreams?" He asked her, trying to figure out why she was here. Well other than the obvious fact that she seemed a bit… spacey.

"Oh no I don't dream at all when I sleep," Hazel said with a smile. "I dream when I'm awake." Percy gave her a strange look which she returned with an even wider smile before turning and skipping off.

"Make sure you watch out for nymphs, they're season is coming soon. Oh and you should ice your eye, it's beginning to swell," she said in a singsong voice as she skipped off to her dorms.

Inside the Cafeteria Percy found a mug of hot chocolate, as if they knew that he would need something warm. It was slightly watered down and he wished that there were marshmallows in it and cinnamon on the whipped cream but it would do.

Percy wander upstairs using the backstairwell he had seem. He found a dirty room with old gaming systems, a few bookshelves, some couches, tables and chairs. He found a faded couch with stuffing torn out and springs showing in the back room which Leo had explained was the "rec" room. The room was almost completely empty except for a girl who was sitting in the corner, her feet propped up on a table and a book in her lap. She gave Percy a look and then smirked at him before turning back to her book.

Percy found himself watching her for a moment and then nearly fell off of the stained couch when she pulled out a knife from her backpack which was leaning against the table and began to casually twirl the knife in her hands. She caught Percy's eyes and smirked at him.

"What you never seen a knife before?" The girl asked him. Percy shrugged.

"Didn't think that knives would be allowed here," Percy said. The girl laughed and twirled the knife in her hand.

"Anything's allowed here as long as you know how to get it past the teachers and Mr. D," she said. She shrugged and then absentmindedly began to carve into the wood with the point of the knife. "And when you've been here as long as I have, you learn pretty fast. Only one person has a bigger stash than I do and that's Chase."

"Really? I never exactly pegged her as the sort of girl to break the rules," Percy said.

"There are a lot of things you probably don't know about this place, we used to smuggle them in together," she said, staring at the table without looking up at him as if she was incredibly interested in what she was drawing. Percy studied her dark hair which was pulled back in a plait down her back with strands falling out and across her face. Her muscles were taunt and her jaw was locked as if she was concentrating hard. She was actually quite attractive in a very, very intimidating way. She reminded him of Annabeth only with darker features.

"I'm Percy Jackson," he said finally introducing himself.

The girl didn't look up and just continued to stare at her table and her knife. "I know, everyone knows what you did to Clarisse. I'd congratulate and praise you if I was that sort of person."

"I'm guessing you're not," Percy said. The girl snorted.

"You got that right," she said and then sighed, jamming her knife back into her backpack. She stood up and slung it onto her back and turned to stare at Percy with piercing dark eyes. "See ya around," she said and then headed towards the door.

"Wait," Percy said, standing up. "I never got your name."

"Reyna," she said and then she headed out of the room, disappearing from Percy's sight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"What are we doing?" Percy asked as he stood next to Piper ad Leo in the middle of the mob of teenagers, all of the standing skittishly, bouncing back and forth on the balls of their feet.

Leo, busy fiddling with the pieces of silverware which he had swiped from the dining hall, didn't even bother to look up. "Capture the flag," he mumbled.

Percy raised an eyebrow. They were really going to play capture the flag? It seemed like such a… normal game for a school such as Goode. Not that he was complaining. Capture the flag seemed a lot more enjoyable than getting pounded again and again into a mat. He had bruises in places where he didn't think that bruises should be allowed to exist.

It wasn't that he was a bad fighter; Coach Hedge had actually said that he was really good, that he had natural instincts. That wasn't the problem at all. No the problem was that he was inexperienced. It was like a first year Hogwarts student who had taken three DADA classes going up against the dark lord himself. Some of these kids were on the same level as trained assassins in Percy's book. (Why of course the government had allowed them to become so trained was beyond him). They knew how to fight.

"So we're just going to have a friendly game of capture the flag where we try to tag each other and stuff?" Percy asked, but he wasn't too hopeful. Nothing at Goode was that… safe.

"If you consider friendly getting put in the Infirmary for two weeks, then sure," Leo grimaced. Piper draped an arm around Leo's shoulder.

"Don't mind Repair Boy over here. He just has a grudge against the very existence of capture the flag because he had a month straight of detention as well as extra appointments," Piper explained.

"It wasn't my fault!" Leo whined.

"What happened?"

"He set the whole forest on fire. They even had to call in the fire department which was the biggest thing that has happened at Half Blood since… well since Danny Reeds hung himself."

Percy decided not to ask about Danny Reeds. Instead he stuck on Leo's story.

"You did what?" Percy asked, looking at him with wide, impressed eyes.

"I didn't mean to! Some kids were smoking instead of playing, by the way smoking isn't allowed here but during capture the flag you can get away with anything really, drugs, sex, alcohol. Barely anyone actually plays the game and if they do it's only because they want more minutes in the shower so that they can-"

"Leo focus, don't scar the boy," Piper said, snapping her fingers in front of Leo's face. He stuck his tongue out at her but continued.

"Anyway, I was running past them because I was actually _playing_ the game. I wouldn't have stopped because they're idiots and even I know that smoking kills blah blah blah. But then one of them _had_ to pull to a lighter. And oh gods this was a pretty sick lighter, one of the expensive kinds, not one you'd get at a gas station. Anyway, next thing I know I'm waking up in the Infirmary with third degree burns and half the forest is scorched."

"If he hadn't have gotten hurt so badly, I would have laughed. He went running though the forest, clothes on fire yelling 'flame on!' He was literally the Human Torch," Piper snickered.

"Could that happen again?" Percy asked, making a mental note to never use a lighter in front of Leo. Ever. In fact he didn't even want to roast marshmallows around him.

"Nah. The result of it was the doc in the basement, side note I'm pretty sure he's not a real doctor."

"We all know that Leo," Piper said, rolling her eyes. "No one believes for a split second that any of those creeps down there that poke and prod at us are real doctors. They're just government officials making sure we aren't completely insane and need to be put into a padded cell. Now please continue with your story."

"Mr. Not a Doctor gave me a pill that I take everyday. So while I still find fire amazing and as addictive as drugs are to some people, I can control myself a little bit better now."

"In other words, he won't be the human torch anymore… at least he shouldn't be," Piper frowned a little, looking at Leo.

It was like the little red pill Percy took once a week to help with his own water addiction. The doctors had al found it strange that he was addicted to water. It wasn't like he drank it a lot…. He just really, really liked water. What scared his mom so much was the fact that when he used to go swimming he would almost drown. Not on purpose of course, he just would stay under water, holding his breath until he passed out and… well it was a problem. So the doctor gave him a 'special' pill which he had been taking since he was seven.

So that he didn't drown himself.

Which was extremely helpful. He didn't really want to drown.

"Are we talking about Leo and his desire to be a superhero?" Percy nearly jumped out of his pants when Nico suddenly materialized in front of them.

"Dude you have got to stop doing that," Percy said, shaking his head.

"Doing what?" Nico asked, a confused look on his face. His dark eyes were studying Percy and his facial expression was completely unreadable which made Percy nervous. What was going on in the mind of a boy who thought that he was dead?

Percy wasn't so sure he wanted to know.

"Alright students, please group up by your grades, capture the flag is about to start. And will Connor and Travis Stoll please return Mr. D's mini fridge back to the Big House?" Chiron's voice boomed across the greens, seemingly coming out of nowhere. Percy looked around for the old man in the wheelchair but he was nowhere to be seen.

"They have speakers built into the rocks and trees, that way Chiron doesn't have to come out here and be forced to deal with all of us," Piper explained.

"So we're basically doing this all by ourselves?" Percy asked.

"Basically," Leo said. "It's like Lord of the Flies all over again." Piper gasped. "What?" Leo asked, turning to look at her.

"Did you just mention a book?" Piper said.

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist Beauty Queen," Leo smirked. "You're just jealous."

"Of what? There is nothing about you that I'm jealous of." Piper said, grabbing his arm and dragging him away. "See you guys in a few hours," she called to Nico and Percy, waving to them. Percy had forgotten that the two of them were only sophomores.

"Why are we dividing up into grades?" Percy asked as he followed Nico towards a large cluster of students he recognized from all of his different classes.

"It's seven way capture the flag," Nico said.

"Is that even possible?" Percy asked.

Nico shrugged. "Anything is possible at Half Blood. It's really simple really. Each grade gets five flags, one big one and four little ones. The woods are divided into seven sections and the boundaries are marked with tape. You try and steal the other grades' flags. The team with the most flags or points wins. Big flags are worth five, little flags are worth one."

"Sounds as confusing as meatless Mondays at my old school where they actually gave you meat." Nico gave him a strange look.

"Okay guys, we're finally going to beat the seniors this year aren't we?" Percy looked up to see Annabeth Chase standing in front of them all, holding a large blue flag over her head. There was a large cry that went up among the juniors, it sounded like a battle cry in one of those war movies Percy used to watch with him friends. "Okay to the forest then!" Annabeth yelled at them all. The group surged forward.

"Is she always in charge?" Percy asked Nico as they tagged along in the back of the group. Nico shrugged.

"Usually, unless she's… preoccupied." Percy didn't ask what that meant. "But she's pretty good at this stuff. It's like she was made to make battle strategies and stuff. It's really impressive. We always come in second."

"Let me guess the seniors usually come in first," Percy supplied. Nico nodded.

"Yeah. Annabeth's amazing but Luke is pretty damn good too. Plus he's got Reyna on his team and Reyna is almost the equivalent of Annabeth." Percy remembered the dark haired girl from the Rec Room and her knife. "And Luke's not afraid to play dirty. He usually leads the attack team and Reyna's always on the defense. What usually ends up happening is our two teams usually ransack the other teams and then go head to head with each other."

"How long does this game usually last for?" Percy asked, ducking under a branch.

"Around four hours," Nico said. "But only a few people are still playing hard when it ends. A lot of people usually disappear in couples, find a nice bush to hide behind and well… you know." Percy nodded. It sounded like his old public school and behind the dumpster during PE class.

The group of juniors stopped in a clearing where Annabeth handed the flag off to a boy with curly brown hair and a mischievous glint in his eyes. He quickly scaled a tree and hung the flag on a branch. Annabeth then handed four other smaller blue flags to four other people who took two other people and scampered off into the woods. Apparently they had been drilled on this before.

"Hey Jackson." Percy looked up to see Annabeth looking straight at him, her grey eyes smoldering. Percy felt a shock jolt through his body. He had seen those grey eyes before. They were so familiar. But from where he couldn't quite remember.

"Yeah," he said, watching as she walked forward, two boys flanking her sides.

"You're on boarder duty," she said, checking her watch. "Do you know what that means?"

"Uh being that I've never played this before, no I have no clue," he said, staring back at her. Over the past week and their multiple Greek and Latin lessons, Percy had tried to not be intimidated by Annabeth Chase.

"That means you'll stand by the creek over in that direction and fight off anyone that tries to come over, got it? Or is that too hard for your small brain to comprehend?" She asked. Percy was about to make a smart retort back to her but decided against it, just in case she decided to put him on a worse job. Like bait.

"Got it Sergeant Chase," he said, giving her a mock salute and then disappeared into the forest.

"You going to play this time Di Angelo?" He heard Annabeth ask Nico.

"I'll go hang with Percy, in case he needs help," Nico said. He could almost hear him shrugging.

"Fine whatever, just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Oh and make sure that he doesn't fall into the creek, that could be very bad for us," Annabeth called as she turned around.

Percy stopped in his tracks. How did she know about the water? It wasn't like he had told anyone. She couldn't know.

It was impossible.

Nico ran up to Percy's side and strolled next to him. "Lovely night isn't it?" Percy drawled, swatting at a mosquito.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Nico said as he jumped over a branch. "The mosquito population is very loyal to each other. You kill one and all of a sudden a hundred of them will be attacking you out of the blue. You might get West Nile."

"Good to know," Percy said. "Anything I need to know about this game. Is there a prison or something?"

"Yeah, back in that clearing, that's where we always set it up in. You gotta manage to knock the person out though to actually get them to go to prison. No one really follows the whole 'you get tagged, you're out' rule."

"Sounds painful," Percy said as he spotted the creek.

"Most things in life are," Nico said. "But then again we're not really alive are we."

Oh yeah, the whole everyone's dead thing. Percy had nearly forgotten about that thing. He got a sick feeling in his stomach as he looked at Nico. The boy looked back at him with his dark black eyes. Thankfully a loud horn blew through the whole forest.

"That would be the signal to start," Nico said. A loud war cry followed which was something about a lion. "Followed by the Narnian worthy war cry." More war cries arose, some sounded like loud grunts and screams, others sounded like they were saying SPQR whatever that meant. "Each team has their own war cry," Nico explained.

"What's ours?" Percy asked.

"No clue."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I'm not really one for Capture the Flag. All I know is that once you cross this creek you're in the seniors' area." Suddenly two boys spend past them and jumped across the creek into the other side, followed by a girl, her long blond hair trailing in the wind.

"So we just sit here and do nothing?" Percy asked, looking around. Once again he would be left out of all of the action.

"Pretty much," Nico said with a nod. "I usually find a nice rock and try and catch a nap."

Then out of the blue there was a loud scream. "Kill the punk!" Percy flinched. He knew that scream so very, very well. He turned towards the creek, instinctively balling his hands into fists and raising one to block a punch to the face and the other to block a punch to the gut. Sure enough Clarisse La'Rue and her band of ugly misfits came running through the woods towards him.

"Gods these freaks again?" Percy muttered. He turned to look for Nico for help but he had disappeared. "Some friend," Percy grumbled as he took a stance, calming his nerves.

Clarisse swung first. Percy dove underneath her punch and rolled between two of her friends, coming up on the other side of the creek, his shoes and pants wet from the water. He began to feel a little jittery and mentally cursed himself. It was near the end of the week when his meds were wearing off. He wasn't sure if he could handle getting drenched in the creek.

"Come here you little twit," Clarisse growled.

"If I was feeling like getting beaten so hard that I became a permanent resident with the dirt maybe I would but I'm not in the mood," Percy said. Clarisse growled as Percy once again danced out of her line of fire. He remembered what Coach Hedge had said about an angry opponent, use the anger to your advantage.

"Come and get me Clarisse if you really want to beat me up," he said holding his arms outstretched as if welcoming her in for a hug. Clarisse cursed at him. "Wow as if I haven't heard that before," Percy said.

"You're going to die you _parvum stultum puerum_."

"Stupid little boy? I'm wounded Clarisse. And if that's the most original thing that you can come up with then you need a better script writer." Out of the corner of his eye, Percy noticed the others closing in around him. He just needed a few more insults until Clarisse popped.

"You know Clarisse you look like you've broken your nose so many times that the doctor decided to give up on fixing it. Are you sure it's supposed to be on that side of your face?" Percy asked.

That caused Clarisse to snap.

She charged at him and when she got close Percy managed to land a swift punch to the gut. He then proceeded to elbow her in the head with his elbow. She crumpled down in the creek and Percy grinned. "How the mighty hath fallen," he said. "And with only a pebble David slew Goliath." And then he shook his head. He needed to stop sounding so philosophical, he was going to look like he might actually be smart and that wouldn't be a good thing.

"Nice job." Percy turned to see Nico standing behind him, one of Clarisse's goonies also knocked out. Nico shrugged. "The others ran for it so I didn't get a change to drop anymore rock on their heads." He pointed up to the thick branch overhanging the creek.

"And here I thought you had abandoned me," Percy said as he put his knuckles to his mouth where they were bleeding from the punch.

"Nah I'm not that much of a coward. A little coward but not a big coward. You wanna bring them to the prison and call it a night?'

"Are you kidding me?" Percy asked, his whole body coursing with excitement and energy. He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, grinning, his sea green eyes sparkling. "That was amazing, I'm not just going to stop now!"

He turned towards the seniors' area. "I'm not stopping till we have that flag!" He called as he turned and ran across the creek, his pants drenched from the creek. Nico shook his head.

"Adrenaline junkies," He muttered as he wrapped his scrawny arms around Clarisse and began to drag her through the mud. "Worse than coffee addicts."

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

Percy saw a flash of blond and blue and a yell which caused him to divert to the left and jump over a large rock. He had successfully managed to run through the forest like a maniac and advert all of the other students from chasing him.

He ran across a girl with blonde hair and a feral look in her eyes, holding a black piece of cloth crumpled in her hand, surrounded by five other students. "Come on Annabeth, hand the flag over," a boy with shaggy black hair said. Percy recognized him from the dining hall, he was the kid with an eye patch.

"Never Ethan," she hissed. They took a step forward and she stuffed the cloth in her back pocket and balled her fists.

Percy looked down and suddenly had an idea. It might not be a very smart idea, in fact it was probably the most stupid idea ever and completely relied on if these five seniors were the smart type or the ones that were more brawn than brain. He stripped off his black t-shirt and then waved it around in the air, hollering as loud as he could. "It worked Chase! I got the flag! They fell for it!"

The five seniors turned around to see Percy standing there. Ethan let out a growl and Percy's eyes shot open. Who knew that these people got so intense about their games of Capture the Flag?

"Get the flag!" Ethan yelled. Percy turned as fast as he could and ran through the forest as fast as he could, ignoring the branches that cut through his skin. He ducked under a few, jumped over some fallen logs, grinning like a maniac. He heard them still chasing him.

He had never run as fast as this before.

Percy saw the creek up ahead and he forced himself to run faster, his lungs burning as if Leo had taken a lighter and lit them on fire. As if he was the Human Torch. Percy kept hollering as he ran, whooping loudly. How it was possible he had no idea but he was doing it.

Percy leapt across the creek, rolling across the mud and leaves. Nico who had been dozing off in one of the trees was startled awake. He leaned over to see Percy laying in the mud, his chest heaving up and down faster than was supposed to be humanly possible.

Pushing himself up into sitting position, Percy grinned at Ethan and the four other seniors, triumphantly holding his black shirt up in the air and waving it around. "Didn't know my shirt was so important," he said, unfolding it and shaking it out.

Ethan cursed so bad that it would have gotten him kicked out of any school, even Percy's old public school in the slums of New York City. "You tricked us!" Ethan said. Percy shrugged and gasped for breath, he really should start laying off the pancakes.

The five seniors struggled back into the forest, shoulders weighed down with defeat when the horn blew again. Percy looked up and Nico and grinned. "I'm pretty sure we won."

"How so," Nico asked, scampering down lithely from his perch and staring at Percy, his dark eyes looking at his stomach.

"Chase got their main flag," Percy said. Then he looked down. His whole stomach was covered in blood. He groaned.

"Dude you're covered in blood," Nico said.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Percy said. "Help me get to the Infirmary. I'm pretty sure the nurse there will have a bed already waiting for me. She knows me well enough now."

"Okay, okay, just take a few deep breaths and please Percy, put a shirt on."

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

"Hey."

Percy looked up from where he was sitting on his cot in the Infirmary flipping through a magazine that had gotten boring an hour ago. The nurse, whose name he had finally learned was Clara, had wrapped his stomach after scolded him and telling him that he'd be stuck in the Infirmary all that night. Percy was pretty sure that she had a crush on him and that she just wanted him to stay with her. So she had stuck him in the first cot by the door and had drawn up a screen so that she could go and work on the other students.

Apparently the seventh graders got into poison ivy.

Annabeth Chase was leaning in the doorway, wearing fresh clothes, her blond hair pulled back in a braid. Percy was surprised to see her here.

"Hey," he said back, forcing himself to sit up.

"I heard that you got some pretty nasty scrapes from running through the forest," she said, coming up to near his bed.

Percy shrugged. "For the good of the team right? Did we win?" He asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Finally. I've been wanting to beat Luke since I was in sixth grade," she said.

"You want to beat your boyfriend? Doesn't sound like something a good girlfriend would do," Percy grinned. "I thought a good girlfriend would want her boyfriend to win."

Annabeth looked at him. "Maybe I'm not like a normal girlfriend. Just because I'm dating him doesn't mean that he owns me," she said.

"I don't think that anyone could ever own you Annabeth Chase," Percy said, smiling at her.

And he noticed that the corners of her lips quirked upwards. "Is that a smile I see on you Miss Annabeth Chase?" He asked. Quickly they disappeared and she turned bright red.

"No," she said quickly.

"I think it was. You know you should smile more often. The whole tough girl appearance only makes the rest of us want to run and hide under a rock."

"Thanks for the advice," she said and then yawned. "Well I have to head to bed and Clara's probably got to change your bandages."

"I think she has a crush on me," Percy admitted.

"You probably think that everyone has a crush on you," she said rolling her eyes.

"Do you?" Percy asked.

Annabeth didn't answer that. Instead she turned and disappeared out the door.

Percy smiled to himself. Slowly he was starting to crack that tough girl demur. Slowly Annabeth's chase ice around her heart was fading. And something about that made his heart pound faster and faster.

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

She woke up.

Someone in her room was screaming.

It took her a moment to realize that she was the one screaming.

The dreams were getting worse.

Shaking she stood up from her bed and opened the door, padding out of the room and down the hallway. She moved quietly, not making a sound. Her heart was pounding faster and faster as she remembered the bullet traveling right through his skull before someone else turned and aimed at her.

Dead.

Death.

Ruin.

Destruction.

He was dead.

He was always dead.

No matter how much she cried or screamed, he would always die.

She hurried down the stairs, her blond hair flying behind her, her grey eyes filled with terror and pained, scared. If anyone else had seen her they would have thought her a victim of a ghost sighting. Maybe she had seen a ghost.

Maybe.

Maybe she was really just dead.

There were a few kids who believed that. Like that one boy with the pale skin.

Maybe they were all dead living dead lives.

After all where was the hope in life if every time they just died?

She stopped at his door.

Room 3.

She pushed the door open slowly.

His bed was empty.

He was gone.

Her heart caught in her throat. Where was he? Where had he gone? Was he dead. No he couldn't be dead.

She collapsed on his bed, pulling a dirty jacket he had left on there up to her chin. It smelled like him, like the ocean. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye as she clutched it tight to her chest. He couldn't be dead.

But then again in her life, he could be dead.

But she didn't want him to be dead.

She loved him.

Annabeth Chase swore on the gods above that she loved him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Please check out my new 10,000 word one-shot Hotel Ceiling as well as my finished story Heart by Heart and review them! Thanks :) **

**Disclaimer: Don't Own.**

**Chapter Six**

Percy wandered into his Ancient History class still a little sore from the weekend. He had his bandages changed so many times that he was almost positive that he could do it in his sleep now. But then again he didn't mind Clara the nurse doing it for him. After all she was quite the good looker. Except when she "accidently" hit him in the stomach. Percy learned that he should probably not attempt to flirt with the government nurse.

"Hey," Percy said, dropping into the seat next to Grover. Grover had become a friend of Percy, one of the four. Everyone else in his grade already seemed to have their "cliques" or were trying to kill him. The main person on the Hate Percy Jackson List was little Miss Annabeth Chase even though he was pretty sure that they were making good progress lately. They managed to have two conversations without Annabeth attempting to judo flip him into oblivion. Even though it wasn't exactly a super friendly conversation, he'd take it.

"How are the cuts Superman?" Grover asked as he flipped through his comic book which was conveniently hidden behind his history text book.

"Still making me feel like shit every now and then but other than that fine," Percy said sarcastically as he pulled his own textbook out of his backpack. He stared at the picture on the front. It was obviously the work of an ancient artist as well as a highschooler who thought it would be funny to give Alexander the Great a mustache as well as devil's horns.

"Somebody obviously thought they were the next Picasso," Grover said, looking over Percy's arm. Percy sighed and flipped open the book to their section on Ancient Rome.

"They thought that, but someone should probably tell them that they aren't," Percy replied, picking up his pencil and beginning to absentmindedly add his own doodles to the large conglomeration of pictures in the margins of the book. Obviously plenty of previous students also thought that Ancient History was the most boring class that Goode could offer, right along with Pre-Calc.

The bell rang and the random students who had been sitting on their desks slipped into their seats, turning to face the chalk board. Mr. William, a small man with a ring of hair around his head like a halo and a shiny top of the head, scuttled into the classroom, a mug of coffee in hand. He turned to face his class once reaching the front, his mustache twitching nervously as he looked at them all as if they were going to attack him at any moment. He adjusted his glasses and then looked down.

"Today we're going to be starting a project," the older man said, his voice stuttering a few times. He smiled at the class and Percy, not for the first time, felt bad for the old man. He tried hard and Percy wondered what in tarnations the board had been thinking by assigning Mr. William to such a large class as Ancient History as well as it being the class that most kids fell asleep in.

The class let out a whoop of gratitude. Anything was better than listening to a lecture about the philosophies of Marcus Aurelius taught by a man who found his tests from SparkNotes as well as probably most of his information.

"I thought about letting you all choose your partners," Mr. William nervously scanned the class, tapping his fingers together, "But… I thought better of it and instead we'll be drawing from the hat." He reached under his desk to grab the top hat he kept under there. He came up with nothing. His blue eyes scanned the class. "Mr. Stoll please bring up the hat," he said, his eyes landing on Connor… or was it Travis? Stoll, Percy still couldn't tell the two apart. He knew that one of them was older than the other but in his book he was pretty sure that they could be twins.

The whole class turned around to look at the boy in the back corner of the class, his feet propped up on the desk and a top hat placed crookedly on his head. The Stoll boy laughed and pulled the hat from off of his head. He twirled it around on his finger and sauntered to the front before bowing and presenting the hat with great flamboyance. A few girls giggled as he spun around and winked at them.

"Thank you Mr. Stoll and if you don't mind please refrain from taking it in the future," Mr. William said as he clutched the hat as if it was a lifeline.

"Whatever," he said as he sauntered back to his chair and slid into it, looking extremely smug.

"He's one of the greatest thieves this school has ever seen," Grover whispered to Percy. "Him and his brother got away with near murder. They would have kept it up since the police couldn't catch them but their mom turned them in after finding their stash in the garage.

"So why didn't they go to Juvy or something?" Percy asked.

"They almost did but then it was proved that they were crazy," Grover shrugged. "So they shipped them off to Goode to be with the rest of us."

"Lucky them," Percy muttered, tapping his pencil up and down on his desk.

"Who's lucky?"

Percy nearly fell out of his chair when he heard Nico join the conversation. "Shit," he said, nearly flipping out. "What the hell!" He hissed. "Where did you come from!" Nico raised an eyebrow curiously as he looked at Percy with those dark eyes.

"What do you mean?" Nico asked. "I've been here the whole time."

"No you haven't." Percy turned to look at Grover. "No he hasn't… right?" Percy asked, hoping for Grover's confirmation. Grover looked nervously between Nico and Percy as if testing the waters between the two of them.

"I… I… I don't know," Grover stammered, Percy was shocked to hear that he sounded almost like a bleating goat. His eyebrows wrinkled as he stared back and forth between his two friends, utterly confused.

"Will you three hush up please? Some of us actually do this thing called paying attention in class," Annabeth whispered as she whipped around to give her famous glare to the three of them. Her dark, stormy eyes glared pointedly at Percy.

"What? Why do I get the main blow of your glare?" Percy asked, "It wasn't like I was the ghost or the bleating goat."

"Just shut up will you," she said. "Mr. William is about to assign the partners so just hush up for five for minutes and then you can go and annoy the shit out of whoever your partner is."

"Just watch your words Princess, know much about karma?" Percy countered. Annabeth rolled her eyes and turned around, flipping her curly blonde ponytail in Percy's face which caused his to sputter and glare at the back of her head.

He slumped in his seat and crossed his arms. One day karma was going to get Miss Annabeth Chase and then she'd regret her words. He watched as Mr. William pointed his conductor's baton (Percy was convinced that Mr. William was meant to be a conductor in life, not an Ancient history teacher) at different students who went up and drew a name from the top hat. He was slowly dozing off when Nico nudged him in the arm. Percy's eyes shot open to see Mr. William pointing at him. He groaned and pulled himself out of his desk, stalking to the front.

He threw his hand into the top hat and pulled out a laminated card from the hat. He pulled it over and read it.

Then he double read it.

Triple read it.

And grinned.

"Who's your partner Mr. Jackson?" Mr. William asked, staring at Percy with a curious eye.

"Karma," Percy smiled at the crowd of students.

"Excuse me?" Mr. William asked for clarifications. Percy turned to look at him.

"Karma," Percy repeated. Then he made eye contact with her, grinning.

There was a loud groan in the classroom followed by a banging of a head against a desk.

Oh yes Karma had finally come for Annabeth Chase.

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

"Are you even paying attention?" Annabeth snapped, hitting Percy with her pencil. Percy grinned, still satisfied with drawing Annabeth's name from the top hat. Sure he wasn't looking forward to actually _having to work with her_ but he was pretty damn happy that she was stuck with him when he was probably her last choice on her list.

"Course I'm paying attention," Percy said, rolling his eyes. "What did you think I was doing?"

"Oh I don't know, going off into Percy land… if you have that much of a brain to actually go somewhere. Maybe your brain is actually empty and you're just staring into empty space," Annabeth said as she flipped open a thick book with such intensity that Percy nearly raised his arms to defend himself.

"Wow, you make me feel so good about myself," Percy replied sarcastically.

"I try," Annabeth said just as sarcastically.

"What is with you?" Percy asked, angered. "I thought that we were finally on a friendly note now."

"See that's the problem with that statement: you thought. You should have learned by now that when you think you're wrong," Annabeth said huffily.

"And the thing with you is that nothing I do is good enough for you, hell I helped you win capture the flag and yet you still hate me," Percy said, drumming his fingers on the table. They were in the large library at Goode at the same table where they usually sat for their Greek and Latin lessons. Annabeth had found multiple books on Ancient Rome and had stacked them all around the duo. Percy noted that she got the biggest ones possible and he was pretty sure that it was for ammo in case she needed to chuck something in his face.

He was not in the mood to get a book in his face.

"I do not hate you," Annabeth said stiffly. She looked down at the book at her fingertips. "Let's just focus on our project please?" Her voice almost sounded as if she was slightly begging.

Percy dropped the subject.

"So what are we supposed to be doing again?" Percy asked as he looked at the book she was flipping through.

Annabeth let out a huff and looked up at Percy. "Do you pay attention at all in class?"

"Sure I do, I was paying attention when Stoll stole the top hat from Mr…" Percy paused and his eyes popped open. "Whoa! His last name is Stoll and his stole… holy shit that's awesome!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Honestly did you just figure that out?" Percy stuck his tongue out at her.

"We're supposed to choose a topic about the culture of Ancient Rome, something that made them different from other cultures or something that was important to them," Annabeth said, flipping through her book again. Percy was becoming convinced that she did that whenever she was nervous.

"Military?" Percy asked, he was in the mood to do something with blood and gore not something boring like their economics or something.

Annabeth looked up, her grey eyes sparkling. "I was actually thinking the same thing. I adore battle strategy and the Romans had some of the best military strategy ever."

"Whoa wait, a girl that likes battles and gore and guts over clothes and all that shit?" Percy asked, his eyes widening.

Annabeth snorted. "Please Reyna and I used to sort through battle strategy books for fun."

"You and Reyna seem close," Percy said casually. Annabeth shrugged and looked back down at her book.

"Yeah, whatever," Annabeth brushed the topic away. She seemed to have a habit of that, breezing away from the topics she didn't want to talk about.

"Annabeth," Percy said, reaching out to touch Annabeth's arm.

And that's when he realized it was a mistake.

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

_There were flashes of fire._

_The ringing of swords. _

_Screams._

_Death._

_He couldn't see anything around him. _

_Except for the dead body in his arms. His cheeks were went with tears. "Please, please Acacia, please be alright," he cried, brushing the blonde curl away from her face. "Please, wake up," he whispered. "I take it all back, I'd take everything back. I wouldn't be a coward."_

_But nothing he could do would make her alive again. He knew it. Once she was dead she would stay dead until he died as well and then the cycle would repeat all over again. _

_This time it was different though. _

_He had been the one to kill her. They hadn't died together, hand in hand. Instead he had been forced to run his blade through her. He couldn't do it without looking away. She had been a traitor to Rome, she deserved to die. That's what they told him. They told him that she needed to die or else more would die. So he had killed her, just like some mindless person would._

_And somehow it hurt more than himself dying._

_How could he? How could he think that he could change history?_

_He had played into fate's hands all along._

_Nothing would ever change._

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

Percy woke up with a jerk, his breathing heavy. Sweat covered his brow as he took deep breathes to try and calm his nerves which were going faster than a train barreling down a tracks went. "What the heck just happened?" He muttered to himself as he looked around.

He was laying on a cot in the Infirmary. His hands were shaking nervously though he couldn't find the reason why. He swung his feet off of the cot and buried his head in his hands, his fingers knotting his raven black hair. He couldn't remember anything of what had just happened. All he had was flashing memories of blood and swords, the ringing of steel.

They say that you don't remember your dreams. When you wake up you'll only remember the end of a dream or no dream at all. And while you think you remember most of your dream, you're only remembering a few parts of it. By lunch you'll only be able to say a few key words about your dream and by dinner you won't be able to say anything at all unless you take the time to try and remember. Dreams seem to slip from our grasps so easily, flying away from us like a bird freed from a cage. Percy couldn't remember his dream.

He wasn't surprised.

Dreams could be serious bitches.

Clara walked past him, a pile of towels in her arms. She casted a quick glance at Percy and shook her head. "You're becoming a regular here Jackson," she said as she opened a cabinet and shoved the towels in.

"Maybe it's fate," Percy quipped, attempting to give his famous crooked grin but failing to. His body was shaking still, he couldn't seem to calm himself down at all.

"Or maybe you're severely accident prone," Clara said as she reached for a few bottles. The way they rattled Percy was pretty sure that they were pills. "It's not usually a good thing when you're in the Infirmary more than you're in class."

"At least the nurse is pretty," Percy said half-heartedly. For some reason he wasn't in the mood to flirt with Clara.

Clara rolled her eyes. "Stop attempting to flirt with my Jackson. You're not that good at it."

Percy shook his head and moved to stand up but realized he wasn't wearing any shoes. "Where'd you put my shoes?" He asked accusingly. Clara looked at his feet and then back to her bottles.

"Annabeth Chase took them off. Said that her mom never let her sleep with her shoes on and then she left." Clara shrugged. "I don't think that she was feeling quite well but she hates the Infirmary so she always gets out as fast as she can. She once had a broken ankle but refused to be treated in here. She says it reminds her too much of Death."

"Annabeth was in here?" Percy asked, spotting his shoes at the front of his bed on the floor. He leaned over and picked them up, unlacing them and shoving his feet in.

"Of course she was. Mr. di Angelo found both you and her unconscious in the library and recruited some of the other students to help carry you here. He was worried about you both."

"Nico?" Percy muttered to himself. "That kid shows up everywhere." He finished lacing his shoes and then stood up, clutching the cot for a moment for support. He felt a little dizzy standing up. "Do you know what happened?"

Clara stared at Percy for a moment, contemplating something for a moment before answering. "Do _you_ know what happened?"

"I hate it when people answer my question with a question," Percy muttered before stalking out of the Infirmary.

His eyes hit the sun when he stepped outside and he cursed under his breath, blinking a few times before setting off across the Greens and heading back to the library. Ancient History was his last class of the day and he had to find his backpack so that he could get started on the backbreaking load of homework he had been assigned.

Percy snorted to himself. Who was he kidding? He probably wouldn't end up starting his homework until Thursday when the only options left were either to do his homework or to fail his class. Procrastination at its finest.

Inside the library there were a couple other students already at work on homework but everyone else seemed to be out. He wove his way through all of the different bookshelves until he found where Annabeth and he had worked on their project… or more had attempted to work on their project before have the gods knew what happened to them.

At his table he saw a familiar face bent over furiously the table, her blonde hair flying everywhere. She had one hand in her blonde curls, fisting them as her brow was burrowed in concentration. Percy slid into the seat across from Annabeth, waiting for her to look up.

She didn't look up.

He picked up one of her pens which were scattered across the table. Percy had seen Annabeth's notebooks and textbooks, they were covered in random notes scrawled along the side, highlighting and dog-eared pages. Percy had once read over her shoulder to try and see what she would be writing but it was all random gibberish. Something about pills and computers and random things.

He began tapping her pen on the table, trying to get her attention. He could see her fingers tensing and her brow furrowing deeper if that was even possible. He grinned and continued tapping.

"Will you please stop with that Jackson," Annabeth snapped jerking up and glaring at him. She immediately buried her head back into her books.

"Well hello to you little Miss Sunshine," Percy said sarcastically as he propped his feet up on the table. Without even looking up, Annabeth reached over and shoved his feet off of the table. "What's up with you? Someone burst your perfect little bubble or something?"

"Will you please just shut up?" Annabeth asked with a heavy sigh. "I have homework to do."

"Homework that isn't due until Friday," Percy pointed out.

"So? I don't see your point?" Annabeth said.

"'Course you don't," Percy scoffed. "So why did you take off my shoes?" Percy asked, studying her. He felt a bit like a stalker, the way he watched her bend over her book, her fingers twirl through her curls or grip her pen. Annabeth shrugged but didn't respond. "What do you think happened?" He asked, trying to get her to answer.

Again silence.

"Hello? Earth to Annabeth Chase," Percy said, waving a hand in front of her. She ignored him still. "What is this ignore Percy day?"

Annabeth let out a large huff. "I'm pretending that you don't exist so I can get this stuff done. And maybe if I ignore you, you'll just disappear into oblivion and I'll never be annoyed again."

"You can't make me disappear. You want to know why?" Percy asked, his sea green eyes twinkling. Annabeth sighed, put her pencil down and then looked up at him with her dark grey eyes.

"Pray tell," she said.

"Well first of all, this place doesn't have moving stairs, talking portraits, ghosts, and while the food is good, it doesn't appear magically and you have to actually walk to go and get it," Percy said, ticking each one off of his fingers. Annabeth gave him a look as if to say _You're stupid, what the heck are you talking about?_ Percy widened his eyes mockingly. "You mean you don't know what I'm talking about?"

Annabeth looked as if she was going to snap any moment. "What are you talking about?"

"Why Annabeth I'm surprised you don't know what I'm alluding to."

"I'm not sure you even know what that word means Jackson," she snorted.

"What I didn't use it properly in that last sentence?"

"Please will you just tell me what you're big point is about why I can't make you disappear because right now I'm feeling sorely tempted."

"This place, no matter how cool the government might try and make it sound, it's not Hogwarts."

Percy watched Annabeth grinning. Her eye was slightly twitching. She tugged at her ponytail and slammed her book shut, grabbing her pens and shoving them into her pencil pouch. "You are so immature Jackson," Annabeth said.

"No I'm just not a wizard."

She gave him a glare and then snagged her books into her arms and marched out of the library. Percy watched her go, watching her blonde curls bounce and the slight sway of her hips… A lump formed in the back of his throat as he watched her go and he suddenly looked down.

"She already has a boyfriend Percy," he muttered to himself. Trying to distract himself, Percy looked at one of the books Annabeth had left.

_The Theory of Time Travel_

Intrigued Percy looked at another one: _Reincarnation and You_

Percy was pretty sure that she wasn't taking any classes involving Time Travel or Reincarnation. That left the question: what _was_ Annabeth Chase studying? Because it sure wasn't Pre-Calc or Chemistry.

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

"So what happened to you? You look like total shit," Leo said as he stuffed a piece of pizza into his mouth. Piper flinched at the sight and Percy noticed she turned a bit green as she looked down at her tofu, soybean chicken substitute thing which she claimed tasted just as good as the real thing if not better. But looking at the way it moved suspiciously, Percy wasn't too sure about that claim.

"Doesn't he always look like shit?" Grover said as he stroked his wispy chin. He joined Percy's table every now and then when his nature club didn't have a meeting and he couldn't find Juniper, the girl that had green tinted skin from some strange and exotic disorder that made her think she was a tree, that he stalked.

"Ooohh!" Leo said, putting up his hand for Grover to high-five.

"Haha, very funny," Percy said rolling his eyes. "Like I haven't heard that one before."

"Ignore those two comedians," Piper said. "They're the only ones who think that they're actually funny. We just don't tell them because they're _crazy_" she lowered her voice.

"Hey," Leo said indignantly, folding his arms. "We're just as crazy as you are."

"No pretty sure you're crazier," Piper said simply. "So what did happen Percy? Nico said that he had to bring you to the Infirmary."

"Again," Leo added. "I don't think that I've met someone who's been in the Infirmary more than I have and that's saying something being that you've only been here for like two weeks."

"Thanks Leo," Percy said dryly. "I have no idea myself what happened. Annabeth and I were working on a project one minute, arguing you know like we normally do."

"You two have so much sexual tension."

Percy nearly fell out of his sleep as Hazel sat down at their table, her dark eyes holding a dreamy look in them. Leo nearly spat out his pizza and Grover's jaw dropped. Piper just laughed. "Excuse me?" Percy asked.

Hazel merely picked an apple off of Grover's plate, if she heard Grover's protests, she didn't acknowledge them. "You and Annabeth," Hazel said as she bit into the apple. "You two are perfect for each other," she said happily. "Just the way you two act around each other. I don't know how you manage to hide how much you like her."

"I do not… I… what?" Percy sputtered.

"I've seen the way you look at her and the way she looks back at you," Hazel's brow wrinkled as she looked down at her apple as if there was something wrong with it. She shrugged and bit into it again.

_Annabeth looks at me? _Percy's hands began to feel clammy as he clenched them together. "And you're always talking with her or teasing her. My mama used to say that when you're in love you tease that person." Hazel's voice became dreamy. "And life's a little weird, we're all a little weird."

"Emphasize on the weird part with that girl," Leo whispered to Grover who snorted.

Hazel seemed to ignore him. "And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours. We join up together in mutual weirdness and call it love. My favorite author said that."

"And who is that Dr. Seuss?" Grover joked. Piper stabbed him in the arm with a fork.

Hazel's eyes sparkled. "Of course," she said, smiling. "I think that Percy and Annabeth's weirdnesses are compatible don't you think so?"

"I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON ANNABETH BLOODY CHASE!" Percy said standing up and banging his fist on the table. He turned bright red as he looked around at everyone who was staring at him. Muttering something he hurried out of the dining hall.

"Does he think we're British or something?" Leo asked, using a terrible British accent. "Who uses words like 'bloody' as a curse at Goode?"

"Percy Jackson does apparently," Grover said.

"See I told you, mutual weirdness," Hazel said, pleased with herself as she clapped her hands together and then stood up, yawning. "Well I promised that I would go and talk to Frank. He thinks that he's a cat right now and won't climb down from the tree he's in because he's too afraid. I think he needs my help."

With that Hazel stood up, put her half-eaten apple back onto Grover's plate and skipped out of the dining hall, her yellow dress bouncing with every skip.

"That girl is more loony that we are," Piper said, shaking her head. "I feel bad for her."

"I don't think you need to. She seems perfectly happy with herself," Leo said as he took another bite of pizza. "What we should be worrying about is Percy. Do you think he likes Chase? Did you see the way he turned bright red!"

"I think he likes Annabeth," a low voice said. The trio jumped in their seats to see Nico sitting quietly at the table.

"When did you get here?" Piper said accusingly.

"I've been here the whole time," Nico said. And something in his voice made them believe him.

"What I want to know is why she gave me back her half-eaten apple," Grover said, staring at the apple disgusted. "It's not like I'm going to eat it."

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

Annabeth Chase sat drumming her fingers on the table at dinner. Luke had his arm draped over her possessively as he talked with one of the other seniors. His arm had been positioned there ever since Percy Jackson had stood up ten minutes ago and announced to the whole dining hall and most of the student population that he did not have a crush on her.

Part of her was a little sad.

She didn't know why and she knew it was a small part of her but she kind of wanted him to like her.

Why she had no idea.

He was infuriating, annoying, and over all idiotic. He acted like a two year old.

But then there was that crooked grin he would give her that made her feel like she was on fire. The way his eyes sparkled when he had just done something stupid made her stomach twist. And whenever he happened to brush by her, a shiver went down her spine.

She had no idea what had happened in the library when they had touched. She remembered blacking out and then feeling the worst pain in her life in her stomach.

It felt like someone had rammed a sword through her.

And then she had woken up beside Percy in the Infirmary.

His shoes were still on his feet and she removed them. Why?

She honestly didn't know.

Her mother used to do it when she was two, it was one of the few memories she had of her mother and something made her do it when she saw Percy's shoes on.

And then she had gotten the hell out of dodge.

"Luke, I'm going to go for a walk," she whispered to her boyfriend. He nodded but didn't even turn to look at her.

She stood up and sauntered out of the dining hall, her heart pounding.

What the hell was she doing?

Why on earth was she going to go and look for Percy Jackson?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Percy sat at the end of the dock, his feet swirling in the water. Every few minutes he'd dip his hand into the water and then pull it out just to watch the water drip off of his fingers, sliding down as it returned back to where it came from. His shoes and socks had been deposited on the rocks back at the beginning of the dock and he had pulled his shirt off, throwing it behind him as he debated whether or not to slide into the lake.

He had the same sort of obsession with water as Leo did with fire. It was almost… intoxicating. There was something about the water that made him feel safe and yet at the same time dangerous. Fire was always dangerous, you touched it and you were burned. With water, it could be safe but it could also turn into a death-trap in the same minute. But he liked the stability of water.

In the end, the raindrops, dewdrops, lakes, rivers, ponds, showers, drinking water, everything in the end returned to the ocean. For some strange reason, that was a comforting thought for Percy.

Doctors found it mind boggling that someone could be obsessed with water. A few years ago they had designed a one pill fits all sort of thing for obsessions. How medicine could control your obsession and passions, Percy had no idea. He wasn't a doctor. But somehow this little pill that he took once a week calmed down his obsession.

It wasn't an obsession per say. It was more a want. A want to be normal, to have a home. Water always seemed to have a home, to have a place. Maybe he was weird but he liked to think that somewhere out there, someone else was in the water wishing that they could be loved. It made him feel like he wasn't alone.

Percy could still vaguely remember the first day that his mom realized that something was wrong with him.

It had been during the summer before he was going into fifth grade and his mom had the day off of work. Percy's step-father Gabe was at work for once in his sorry, pathetic life. It was strange… Percy could barely make out the figure of his step-father, what he sounded like, what he looked like, where he worked. He just remembered hating the man's guts and thanking whatever God was out there that he had been arrested for drunk driving.

His mom had taken him to the local swimming pool around the corner of their rundown apartment. The swimming pool was more of a swimming hole, with no distinct lines to tell you no running or no diving, with one old lifeguard that had been there since he was fifteen and now he was forty. It had been there since 1965 and it grew a strange green, terrible smelling thing between the cracks of the concrete.

It was the first time he had gone swimming since the last summer when they went to the cabin. He remembered sprinting into the water, tucking his knees under his chin, wrapping his arms around his legs and catapulting in.

He had created such a big splash that a few parents had given him the finger as they got up drenched and moved to find a drier, rusty chair.

Percy had ignored them all.

Why worry about what other parents had to think about you when there was water! When you could be swimming around, free of what everyone else thought about you. He closed his eyes and let the freezing water cover his skin in a blanket of sorts.

He started to forget everything around them.

What would it be like to just… float away? Become a part of the water? Belong somewhere. He didn't feel his lungs start to ache or his head go a bit light. He was too caught up in thinking what it would be like to belong.

Percy didn't even know what was happening until the forty year old lifeguard dragged him out of the water and he heard his mother screaming.

He had been under the water for over five minutes.

He still remembered the water and how it touched his skin, how it seemed to talk to him. He was pretty sure he wasn't crazy… but then again he claimed that have heard water talking to him so maybe there was some part of him that was crazy.

It wasn't like it actually spoke and said "hello Percy." No it didn't speak and that was what drew him in. It didn't tell him anything.

He liked the silence in a world so loud.

His mother had taken him into the doctor's office the next day after he told her what the water was like to him. He remembered her chewing her bottom lip nervously and the doctor, a sickly looking old man with large coke bottle glasses, stared at him like he was a science experiment.

That's when he had given him the pills.

"You know you could do me a favor and put on your shirt so that I don't have my mind scarred for the rest of my life." Percy turned around and was greeted by his shirt in his face.

He pulled it off and looked at who had thrown it, his eyes almost popping out of his sockets. Annabeth Chase stood halfway down the dock, her hands on her hips and lips pursed. It wasn't the fact that she was standing there that shocked Percy, he was expecting her to probably follow him and then slap him outside the face for what he had yelled in the Dining Hall. It was the fact that her grey eyes, usually so serious and dark held a little glimmer of light in them.

Like she was laughing at him.

Annabeth Chase laughing? That in itself was an oxymoron.

"Did you need something or did you just come to insult me?" Percy asked, putting the shirt to the side. What could he say? He enjoyed teasing the blonde.

"No, just came to get away from everyone for a bit. Luke was getting a bit clingy after your confession of non love," Annabeth said, kicking off her sandals and sitting down next to Percy, her feet swishing in the water.

"And you just so happened to choose the exact same place where I was currently sitting at, trying to get away from everyone?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabeth shrugged. "Last time I checked your name wasn't written in big bold letters saying PERCY'S."

"Nope instead it's engraved in the wood underneath," Percy grinned. "Really why did you come here? If you wanted to go get away from the idiots you could have easily gone to the library or your room because after all in your opinion, I'm an idiot."

"Not true," Annabeth said, folding her arms. "You're just… special."

"Ah thanks, special, makes me feel better about myself," Percy snorted.

They sat there for a few moments in silence, Annabeth swishing her feet back and forth in the water; Percy running his fingers through it, skimming the surface.

"Why did you come here?" She finally asked.

"Hmm?" Percy asked, snapping out of his daydream he had started to enter and turning to look at the girl sitting next to him.

"I said why did you come here? Why come to the lake? Most boys would go hole up in the Rec room or something."

Percy shrugged. "Guess I'm not like most boys."

"You're definitely not," he heard Annabeth mutter under her breath.

"i've always like the water. I guess the lake reminds me of a beach that my mom and I used to go to when I was younger." Annabeth nodded.

"Were you close to your mom?" She asked.

Percy nodded this time. "My mom… my mom is one of those special people in the world. The ones that deserve to have their happily ever after but they don't. She was in a relationship with my dad and was head over heels with him but he ultimately left her in the end. Went on a business trip over seas and never came back. She married this idiot, how she managed not to pull her hair out when the two of us started fighting I have no idea. But she left Smelly Gabe and is now in a relationship with this guy who was my English teacher, he's nice and I know that he loves her."

Percy paused. Why on earth was he telling all of this to her? He was pretty sure that she had established that she hated him.

And here he was, spilling his story about his mom to her, something he hadn't told anyone before. The strange thing was that it felt like he had done it before.

It was like Déjà vu.

He was almost positive that he'd done this before.

"What about you? You have parents?" Percy asked. Annabeth looked at him as if the very question was ridiculous. Percy realized how stupid his question was. Of course she had parents, it wasn't like she was Eve or something. It was against the laws of nature to not have some form of parents. Sure you might have shitty parents but you still had parents.

"Wow… um that sounded stupid. I mean what are your parents like?" He asked, not exactly expecting Annabeth to answer him.

Annabeth shrugged. "I lived with my dad and my stepmom until I was in sixth grade, then they shipped me off to here."

Percy looked at her and noticed that her hands were clenched together in fists. "I never knew my mom, she left when I was born. Left me on my dad's doorstep. He didn't even know I existed. My stepmom thought I was a freak because I would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. She said that I scared my little brothers so I had to leave.

She said there was no way in hell that I was normal."

Annabeth sighed and then looked at Percy. "What does normal even mean? Honestly, I hate when people say I'm not normal. It's not their right to judge what 'normal' is and what it isn't. I mean is anyone ever really _normal_. Everyone's different so technically normal can't exist."

Percy stared at her as she continued to rant, even going as far as to spout off the dictionary definition of what normal was. She was kind of cute when she ranted. He shook his head. No, no way was he going to think about her like that.

"Are you even listening to me?" Annabeth huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Yeah… normal," Percy said.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. The silence came over them again.

Finally Annabeth spoke up again. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice quite.

Percy's eyes popped wide open for the second time since she'd joined him. "I'm sorry but did Miss Annabeth Chase just say sorry?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and nudged him in the side. "Don't get used to it Jackson. I've just decided to be the better person and apologize. I'm sorry for being… cold since you've gotten here."

"You've been a little more than just cold. You've been pretty damn… witchy if you catch my drift… you know just change the w to a …"

"I got it, I got it," Annabeth said, her voice raising an octave higher as if she was about ready to laugh. Percy smirked.

"So what was that explosion about in the Dining Hall?" Annabeth asked quietly.

Percy felt his cheeks turning red again. He looked down at his hands which were in the water. "It was nothing. My friends were just teasing me about us."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and Percy could tell she was tempted to say something but he was surprised when she stayed silent.

"Annabeth there you are!" The duo whirled around to see Luke walking towards them. His blue eyes narrowed as he looked at the two of them, the grin on his face disappeared as soon as he saw who his girlfriend was sitting beside.

"What are you doing here?" Luke growled.

Percy shrugged, "Last time I checked it was a public dock."

"Except your name is engraved in it," Annabeth muttered under her breath. Percy smirked again.

"What are you doing sitting next to my girlfriend?" Luke asked, his eyes narrowed even farther. "And where the hell is your shirt?"

"Luke, it was nothing. I was just talking with him. We both wandered over here and we just started talking," Annabeth said, jumping up and walking over to him as if she could sense the tension in the air between the two. Percy followed her, standing up and clenching his hands into fists.

Why on earth was his heart racing faster? Why was there something tugging in the bottom of his stomach. Was it… dare he say it… jealousy?

Was he jealous?

Impossible, Percy Jackson did not get jealous.

"I thought you hated the guy," Luke said, his voice cold.

"I never said that. Percy and I don't see exactly eye to eye but I don't hate him," Annabeth insisted, looking over her shoulder at Percy. Something in the way she looked at him made his heart do a weird flip-flop in his chest.

"Whatever, let's go," Luke said, draping an arm around Annabeth's waist. Percy had to contain himself from jumping on Luke.

Why? He had no idea whatsoever.

Maybe he was becoming even crazier than before.

Gods he was going insane.

He was about ready to fight a guy over Annabeth Chase.

Yeah he was pretty sure he needed help.

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

Percy woke up the next morning feeling different. Something was off and he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

Then it hit him.

The dreams.

He didn't have any dreams last night at all.

It almost felt like he had lost something since he didn't have any dreams. He had grown so used to them that when he didn't have one it was… well it wasn't like him.

Pulling on jeans and a blue shirt he grabbed his bag, shoved the textbooks which were left scattered around the floor, making it look as if he had been studying studiously last night.

Really he had just been trying to find the extra cookie buried in his backpack.

It had melted all over his Ancient History book adding to the beautiful picture of Alexander the Great. Maybe _he_ should try art. If he could get chocolate chips to melt in such a perfect form then he must have some talent.

He tucked the thought away and decided to ask Leo and Piper if there was any class involving chocolate chip art.

Inside the Dining Hall he grabbed a plate of eggs and a few pieces of bacon, his eyes scanning the room for his friends.

They had moved tables and were sitting farther back. Leo was moodily stabbing at his cereal with his spoon and Piper was slurping on her milk. Nico was nowhere to be seen and Grover had Nature Club that morning which meant that he was chasing after Juniper.

"Why does the Dining Hall smell like smoke?" Percy asked sitting down at the table. Before Piper or Leo could ask, a blond haired boy stopped by their table and put his hands on it, smirking.

"I'm betting that it was Valdez. Did you try and set the whole place on fire Repair Boy?" Jason Grace asked.

"It's Mr. Macho Mcsizzle to you," Leo muttered under his breath.

"I bet your hands were just itching to set something on fire, you couldn't help it could you?" Jason persisted on, ignoring Leo's last comment.

Leo let out a heavy sigh. "I admit it alright? I was hungry last night and saw that the kitchen was open. I tried my hand and making some cereal."

"You nearly burned down the place making cereal? What did you use a blowtorch to heat up your milk?" Percy asked, incredulously. He saw Piper roll her eyes out of the corner of his eye and shake her head.

"The stove and microwave were a whopping five inches away okay? The blow torch on the other hand was one inch away. What can I say I like my milk warm?" Leo said.

Jason shook his head. "You're an idiot sometimes Valdez," he said and then he sauntered off towards his friends. Piper and Leo watched him go.

"Why are earth were we ever friends with that bastard?" Piper said disgusted.

"I'm pretty sure his parents weren't married so bastard is the proper term," Leo muttered under his breath, watching Jason with the evil stink eye of death. "We were idiots."

"Totally," Piper agreed, taking another drink of milk.

"So I'm assuming that the whole blow torch thing was a joke," Percy said.

Leo shrugged, "Nah I did it once. But that was back when I just had gotten here."

Percy shook his head. "I really don't want to know how or why you would be using a blowtorch on your cereal."

"Leo sometimes you inspire me." This time Percy didn't fall out of his seat. He was ready for his voice to just pop out of nowhere and then to be accompanied by his body.

Sure enough Nico was sitting next to Percy, his arms folded. Piper shook her head and didn't say anything. Leo's mouth was wide open, milk dribbling down his chin. He quickly recovered and wiped it off with his sleeve.

"Well might as well check off inspire someone from my list. Now all I need to do is find Osama's skeleton and work it into a comedy sketch."

Percy nearly choked on his pancakes. Piper's eyes shot open, Nico just snorted. "Leo, some people would be very offended by that."

Leo shrugged. "I'm sure the Northern Idahoans would be on my side."

"Do you even know where Idaho is?" Piper asked.

"Of course I do, it's near Canada, that's where Frank's from."

"Isn't that the potato place?" Percy asked. He wasn't exactly sure where Idaho was. Then again he had always fallen asleep in geography classes. Who wants to waste their time studying boring maps.

Nico shrugged.

"It's actually known as the Gem State, capitol's Boise and it does border Canada as Leo said," Annabeth Chase sat down at their table. "However they are known for their potatoes and their state tree is the Western White Pine, state bird is the Mountain Blue Bird, and their state dance is the square dance."

The group just stared at the girl who sat across from them, eating a piece of melon. Annabeth shrugged. "What?"

"First of all, what are you doing sitting at our table, second of all how the hell did you know all of that?" Percy asked, ticking the two questions off on his fingers.

"It's technically not _your _table. I believe we've had this conversation before Percy about claiming inanimate objects as yours. Second I read okay? You're telling me none of you ever studied up on the different states for fun?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No Miss Encyclopedia, we actually know how to have fun," Leo said.

"Lovely friends you have here Jackson," she commented, pushing a random strand of hair behind her ear. Percy just continued to stare at her.

"Why aren't you sitting with Luke?" Piper asked, asking the question that Percy himself had been wondering. Annabeth shrugged.

"He was getting on my nerves," she said simply. "This table looked like fun."

"Fun? We're not only fun we're amusing, exciting, enjoyable, thrilling and exhilarating," Leo stated proudly.

"You also sound like you just sprouted off the thesaurus entry for the word fun," Annabeth pointed out.

"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine," Leo quipped back.

"I try to be," Annabeth smirked.

Leo huffed and continued to stab at his cereal.

"Do you know why the Dining Hall smells like smoke?" Percy asked Annabeth. Annabeth shrugged.

"I'm guessing some pyro got into here last night. Apparently one of the trashcans out back was set on fire. Thankfully we caught it before it spread."

"A trashcan?" Percy asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Things like this happen all of the time Jackson. Books disappear, couches are destroyed, food looks like it's been eaten by animals. A burning trashcan is nothing unusual."

"Sure, nothing unusual at all. But a trashcan?" He asked, still finding it hard to believe her. Who would harm a perfectly innocent trashcan? Sure it might smell bad but still? Then again, the boy who nearly burned down the Dining Hall trying to toast his cereal was proof of people's obsessions with fire.

Annabeth turned to look at Percy. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to a party tonight at the Seniors' place."

Percy looked at her skeptically. "Don't we have school tomorrow?"

Annabeth shook her head. "It's parent's day tomorrow."

"What?" Percy asked.

"Every few weeks in from the start of the school year, parents are allowed to come a visit their kids, that sort of thing. There's no school," Piper answered this time.

"Oh," Percy said. He began to wonder if his mother would come and visit him.

"So will you come?" Annabeth asked.

"Why are you asking me? It's a senior party isn't it?" Percy asked.

"No it's for anyone in the upper school who heard the memo. You can bring your friends along to, just make sure that the pyro leaves his matches in his dorm room."

"I still don't get why you're asking me."

"Because didn't we decide just yesterday that we were going to act friendly with each other?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't exactly remember those words…"

"Oh just shut up already PJ, it's a party. Who cares why we're invited," Leo said, interrupting him before he could continue with his train of thought.

"Did you just call my PJ?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Trying out a new nickname for you. What do you think?"

"Isn't that one of those creepy dinosaurs on that kid's show?" Percy asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's BJ," Annabeth corrected. Everyone turned to look at her.

"And you would know this how?" Leo narrowed his eyebrows in suspicion. Annabeth merely shrugged and stood up.

"I have little twin brothers, they watch that sort of thing. Now are you going to come tonight or no?" She asked Percy.

Percy shrugged. "I guess so."

"Great, I'll see you there."

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

Percy walked with Nico to the large modern styled house on the edge of the large line of housing for the different grades. He had changed after classes into black pants and a button down green shirt. His hands were jammed into the pockets of his pants.

Why was he doing this? He was basically walking into enemy territory by going to this party. Clarisse was a senior as was Luke. Luke seemed like he hated Percy's guts and Percy was positive that Clarisse more than hated Percy's guts.

But still here he was, walking up the steps to the house.

The door to the house was flung open and the two juniors were greeted by one of the Stoll brothers. "Welcome to the party!" He said, giving a hug to both of the boys quickly and then releasing them. Percy wondered what that was all about.

Nico sighed. "Hand it back Travis," he said, holding his hands out.

So this one was Travis? How was he able to tell?

"Hand what back?" Travis asked innocently.

"Hand his wallets back. I know you took them." Travis sighed and withdrew a wallet from his back pocket, handing it to Percy who was shocked to see that it was indeed his wallet.

"See you Travis," Nico said, putting a hand around Percy's shoulders and steering him away from the front entrance to the back of the house where there was a large room, similar to the one in their own dorms.

"Never let a Stoll hug you, they never mean it." He looked at Percy. "Why do you even have a wallet?" He asked.

Percy shrugged.

Nico shook his head and then stared at the large crowd of people, dancing, snogging, and doing… other activities. Percy was shocked to see that it was a normal high school party, similar to the ones that he went to back in NYC. He was even pretty sure that the brownies weren't all that they appeared to be.

"Let's get this thing over with," Nico muttered under his breath.

And for some reason, Percy couldn't help but agree. Something was going to happen tonight.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Percy sat awkwardly on a couch between a couple that were currently eating each other's faces and a girl who was flopped over the side of the couch, muttering something under her breath to herself. She looked sick and Percy was wondering if he should go find a trashcan for her… just in case. He wasn't willing to let her turn on him and throw up.

"You look like you're having fun." Percy looked up to see Leo holding a bowl of popcorn in his arms and grinning at him.

"Oh just loads," Percy said, rolling his eyes.

"Popcorn?" Leo asked, holding the bowl out. Percy took a handful of it and tossed it into his mouth. "Where'd you get the popcorn?" He asked.

"I brought if of course, you know the rule with parties: you bring a snack that you can keep to yourself and not share with anyone. And of course, I've learned the hard way not to try the brownies." Percy wasn't sure he wanted to know this story.

"Did you make this?" Percy asked.

"Of course," Leo said. "Do you see a Walmart around here?"

"You would buy your popcorn from Walmart?" Percy asked.

"Of course," Leo repeated. "Where else could you wear a Captain Toolbelt costume without getting any strange stares when it's not Halloween?"

Percy rolled his eyes again, but decided not to press the issue. He was pretty sure that they had already established that he was crazy. "I'm hoping that you didn't try to use the blowtorch when you tried to make this popcorn."

"Don't worry PJ the Dining Hall is still standing… barely. I mean the microwave is pretty damn hard to use. Have you seen the instruction manual for that thing? It's as bad as a college textbook."

"And you would know what a college textbook is how?" Piper asked, coming up behind Leo and reaching over his shoulder to grab a handful of popcorn. She popped a piece into her mouth and slowly chewed it. "It needs less butter Leo, seriously it's butter with a side of popcorn." She nodded to the girl who was now lying on Percy. "Is this your date for the night?"

"He has superior tastes in women," Leo said. "First Annabeth Chase and now… this lovely lady."

"Will we be expecting wedding bells soon?" Piper smirked. "She looks very enthralled by your presence."

"I think she's going to hurl soon," Percy said. "Leo I might need that bowl."

"You are not letting some random crazy girl puke in my popcorn," Leo said, protectively holding his popcorn in his arms.

Piper grabbed Percy's arms and pulled him up. The girl flopped over onto the snogging couple, eliciting a squeal from the girl. Leo snorted. "Where's Nico?" Piper asked as they walked away, weaving their way through a group of kids who had pushed all of the couches and chairs to the side to create a make-shift dance floor. Percy wrinkled his nose at the smell of sweaty bodies pushed up against each other.

"Yeah where is the Ghost King?" Leo asked, popping a piece of popcorn into mouth. "He came with you right? Tell me you didn't allow him to skip out on this public display of some teenagers inability to control their hormones."

Piper looked at him with her kaleidoscope eyes. "I cannot believe you just said that," she said, shaking her heads. "I cannot believe that I'm friends with you."

"It wasn't my choice, it was all yours," Leo said, grinning.

"Hey Pipes." Percy saw Piper instantly cringe as she refused to turn around and acknowledge the boy who was making his way towards the trio. Her fists clenched together as if she was ready to turn around and throw a punch.

Which Percy had a feeling she was about to do.

"You're looking pretty good tonight," Jason said. He gave her a goofy grin as he reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Piper whirled around and grabbed his arm, twisting it around, causing him to grimace in pain.

"Can't say the same thing about you Sparky," Piper bit out. "You're drunk," she sniffed the air and then wrinkled her nose.

"Ah come on Pipes, drunk just means more fun," Jason wiggled his eyebrows.

Piper rolled her eyes. "No drunk means idiotic and stupid. There's a reason you're not supposed to drive when you're drunk. You do stupid things. Same thing applies at parties. But then you're an idiot always so maybe it's okay if you're drunk.

No one would notice the difference."

Percy saw in the corner of his eye Leo grinning to himself, munching on popcorn as if this was a movie.

"You talk a lot more than you used to," Jason said, frowning. He grabbed her waist and this time Piper pulled back her arm and let the punch she'd been holding back fly. There was a sickening crunch and Jason stumbled backwards, holding his nose, his hands turning red. He looked up at Piper, realization dawning in his eyes.

"Oh my gods Piper… I didn't," he started.

"Oh just stop with all the shit and shut up. Here's a tip for you Jason Grace. If you touch a girl, even as a joke, and she pushes you off, leave… her…alone. Don't touch her again. Anywhere. Your touch just sickens her."

Piper turned, looped arms with Leo, who had set down his popcorn bowl on a table and was glaring at Jason, and Percy. She then saucily flipped her hair and started walking away, causing the boys to follow her. They got to the front foyer where there was no one and she let go.

Piper did a little squeal and clapped her hands together. "That felt so good," she said, grinning. "He's such an idiot. No idea why I ever had a crush on him or why I dated the imbecile in the first place."

"Because he wasn't always an idiot," Leo pointed out.

"Okay I'm still confused," Percy said, raising a hand. "What happened between you two and Jason Grace?"

"We," Leo said, motioning to Piper and himself, "Used to be best friends with Jason Grace. Like we've previously mentioned, I share a dorm with Jason and Frank, the one Hazel is obsessed with, the one that thinks he's an elephant in the middle of the night and oh gods does that get annoying. Honestly sometimes I just-"

"Focus Repair Boy," Piper said, snapping her fingers under Leo's nose to get his attention.

"Right," Leo said, straightening out his thoughts. "Anyway, we were pretty popular back then wouldn't you say Beauty Queen? Then Sparky's, that's Jason by the way. Quick tangent: Jason's crazy like his sister. They have this weird thing with lightning. I'm pretty sure his sister, Thalia you know the one who got taken away, got struck by lightning at least six times. And she's still alive!

Jason has this thing too where he thinks he can fly sometimes. There were bars on our windows for our dorm because he tried to open them and jump out in the middle of the night. Anyway then we both wizened up and realized that popularity is for all of the jackasses in the world and that we didn't need to be popular to feel good about ourselves.

Jason however didn't agree with us and pretty much ditched us when we told him that we were sick of people and all of the backstabbing bitches and bastards, hey that's alliteration, you owe me," Leo said, pointedly to Piper. She rolled her eyes. "Pretty damn good alliteration to," Leo muttered.

"Jason always had been a bit unstable after his sister left and when we told him that we were done with hanging around with the more 'popular' of the crazy kids…"

"Just goes to show that popularity doesn't only exist in public schools. There will always and always have been the people that think they're better than the rest of us," Leo interrupted.

"Yes, yes, history repeats itself, congratulations on paying attention in history class Leo," Piper said. "Anyway, he just sort of snapped afterwards. Completely ignored Leo and I unless it was to harass us."

"It was hardest for Piper because she dated him for a while," Leo pointed out. Piper turned red and looked down at her feet.

"It was a mistake."

"A lot of the time, what we think is love, turns out to be just a mistake. The most amazing and beautiful things in life turn out to be the most dangerous."

They whirled around to see Hazel sitting on the stairs, flicking through a magazine. She looked up at them and smiled with her pearly white teeth. "Did you know that blue is apparently the new black. Sounds like a bruise." She looked back down at her magazine.

"I told you she was crazy," Leo hissed in Piper's ear.

"Well so are you," she hissed back.

"Someone's fighting upstairs. You should go look at it Percy Jackson," Hazel said, licking her finger and then turning the page.

As if on cue a scream lit up the dormitory.

Well it wasn't exactly a scream. It was more of a loud, guttural cry of pain which might have bordered on being a scream. Percy looked quickly at Piper and Leo before rushing up the stairs to see what had happened.

He saw a door cracked on the first floor and pushed it open with his shoulder. "What the…" His voice trailed off at what he saw in the room.

Inside was a frazzled looking Annabeth, whose shirt was skewed and lips looked swollen, she was looking down at the floor where a moaning blonde was lying clutching his groin. "What the hell Annabeth?" The figure moaned.

Percy realized that it was Luke. He raised an eyebrow quizzically at Annabeth who just shrugged, brushed her hands together and walked to Percy. "I told him to stop, he didn't stop. The bastard," she muttered to Percy, hesitating for one moment before heading down the stairs, her blonde curls trailing behind her.

"What on earth did you do?" Percy growled, suddenly feeling incredibly protective of Annabeth Chase. Luke groaned something incoherently. Percy rolled his eyes and hauled the blonde haired boy up by his shirt's collar, looking him in the eye.

"What did you do?" He spat.

"Nuthin," he slurred, his cheek was swollen and there was evidence of a handprint. Percy was slightly surprised that Annabeth hadn't completely killed the guy. For some weird reason he wondered who would win in a fight: Annabeth or Luke?

From the looks of it, Percy would probably bet on Annabeth to win.

He couldn't hold back the anger that was suddenly boiling in the pit of his stomach. And it almost scared him what he was feeling. But he pushed away the fear and tightened his grip on Luke, feeling powerful as he glared at the head boy.

"Whatever you did it was obviously something stupid," he smirked smugly. "But for some reason that doesn't surprise me."

"You don know anythun Jackson," Luke slurred again, blood coming out of his mouth. He spat it to the side and Percy grimaced.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to spit in public?" Percy asked.

From the doorway to the dorm Piper and Leo watched in rapt attention. "What's going on?" Nico said, appearing behind them and peering into the doorway.

"This is as good as that movie I saw before I got stuck in this place," Leo muttered. "I'll be right back." He pushed past Nico and Piper, heading down the stairs, muttering something under his breath.

"Let go Jackson," Luke spat as twisted out of Percy's grasp. He stood now, face to face with Percy, his cheek beginning to swell. The two boys looked at each other, blue eyes of thunder meeting green eyes of hurricanes. Percy automatically moved his feet into a fighting stance when he noticed Luke's death glare.

He didn't trust Luke to act civilly.

"What happened," Percy repeated, coldly and collected as he stared back at Luke. Luke had a good two inches on him but Percy was confident in his abilities of dodging out of the way when people used their height to their advantage.

"It's all your fault really. The bitch didn't want to do it. Kept telling me to stop. She hasn't been the same ever since _you_ came here," Luke snapped, wiping the blood that trickled out of the corner of his mouth away.

"Did you just call Annabeth Chase a female dog?" Percy asked, his eyes blazing. There were a lot of words that could be used to describe Annabeth: stubborn, proud, arrogant as hell, smart, pretty... but bitch was certainly not one of them.

"Shut up Jackson," Luke yelled again. His breathing became labored and heavy as he stared at Percy. "I knew that you were trouble."

"Isn't that a song?" Percy asked, tapping his jaw with a finger.

"SHUT UP!" Luke yelled again.

By this time Leo had reappeared with the large bowl of popcorn, looking pleased with himself. "What did I miss?" He asked.

"Percy is succeeding in completely aggravating Luke. I think he's wanting Luke to throw the first punch so that Percy can just say that he was defending himself," Piper said. She could not believe what was going on.

Everything seemed to be falling apart.

And it all started when Percy Jackson came to Goode Academy.

Nico inched away from Leo, "Is that corn?" He asked him suspiciously, looking at the bowl.

"I'm pretty sure that they call it pop_corn_ Ghost king," Leo said, his eyebrow raised. "Why are you… dare I say it afraid of corn?"

"Shut up," Nico muttered, folding his arms.

"And here I was, thinking that we were going to be friends," Percy said, spreading his arms out. "You made me feel so welcome when I showed up. Or was that all a ploy?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at Luke. "That's all you are Luke, a ploy. Did you ever actually even love Annabeth or even like her? Or were you just dating her because she was popular."

"You know nothing about Annabeth and I," Luke hissed. "We go a whole lot farther back than you do."

For some reason Percy almost said 'Well actually we go all the way back to around the Mesopotamian times but who's counting?'

Why would he say that? Hell he didn't even know what Mesopotamia was.

"Then you should know better than to treat her like every other girl here," Percy said. "Obviously you don't care."

Luke growled.

"I wonder why you're here Luke, why are you crazy?" He studied the blond haired boy with the long scar across his face.

"I'm not crazy!" Luke roared and then he attacked.

For all of the rumors about Luke Castellan and his fighting ability, Percy could say from experience that every single one of them was false.

He was better than all of the rumors.

Luke moved like Annabeth did, calculating and cold but Luke had more anger when he fought while Annabeth held most of her anger back and kept her face completely calm.

That was one of Luke's faults. His anger betrayed him, causing him to fight with a sort of reckless abandon that Percy sometimes fought with.

After dodging a few punches, Percy fell backwards, a foot to his gut. He grunted as he flew across the floor on his butt. "Frick that hurt," he muttered to himself. And something suddenly happened. He lost all control and blacked out, letting some instinct inside him take over. It was like a voice in his head was telling him what to do. He jumped up and blocked Luke's next punch, grabbing his arm and spinning around to twist it around his back. Percy kicked his knees and Luke fell down onto the ground, letting out a groan.

Percy pressed against Luke harder, causing him to let out a scream of pain. "You will apologize to Annabeth the next time you see her," he said, gritting his teeth. When Luke didn't respond Percy twisted his arm harder, Luke's body began to shake in pain.

"And you will never go near her again unless she wants you to which I'm guessing she won't want you to do," Percy growled.

"Percy stop!" Piper yelled. "Percy you're going to snap his arm!" Piper's voice cut through the anger which was coursing through Percy's veins as he glared at Luke, his knee digging into Luke's back.

Percy looked down at what he was doing and suddenly let go. Luke crumpled to the ground.

He turned around and faced his friends. "Let's go, I'm done here."

They all stared at him, mouths wide open. Popcorn was falling out of Leo's.

"Leo shut your mouth, you look like a goldfish," Percy grumbled as he hurried down the stairs.

Percy brushed past his friends and hurried back to the room where the main party was happening. Everyone looked incredibly drunk as they danced. His eyes scanned the room for Annabeth and when he didn't see her, he turned and headed out the door.

"Where are you going?" Leo called after him.

"To find Annabeth!"

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

Sometimes Annabeth Chase let her façade fall away.

She had worked so hard to make sure no one ever saw her without her calm and cold demur. It was the only thing that kept her from literally going crazy. She figured that if she could form her own persona of someone that she would like to be then she would make it out of here just fine.

So she pushed everyone away, she fought hard, studied hard. Just so that she would make it through fine without anymore scars.

She already had far too many.

She hated being considered crazy.

But somehow deep down she knew that she was crazy.

The only person she had let in was Luke. Well she had let in Thalia but then Thalia had left her, left her to rot in this hell. Just another reason to never be friendly.

People often hurt more than they help. Without meaning it they can wound someone for life. And that person will never be the same.

Too many people were broken in the world.

Luke had been her one last link to humanity, her last grasp at trying to love.

And then Luke had been an idiot.

Annabeth shuddered as she remembered his hands crawling up under her shirt. She had made it very clear when they had begun dating that she wasn't ready for that. And yet he still did it.

So she slapped him.

And kicked him in the place where the sun didn't shine.

She had warned him. She had told him no.

But he was too hard of hearing.

"Hey."

Annabeth turned her head as she sat on the dock, feet in the water to see Percy Jackson standing behind her, hands in his pants' pockets.

"Hey."

"Might I join you?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "My name's not written on the dock is it?"

She was expecting him to grin at him, smile and laugh but instead he just nodded and sat down beside her, pulling off his shoes and socks.

They sat there in silence.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? It wasn't your fault. You weren't the one who did it."

If there was anything Annabeth Chase hated most in this world, it was pity.

"I know…. I just… didn't know what else to say."

They sat there again, staring at the blue.

"You know that I once tried to drown myself."

She didn't know why she said it. It just sort of slipped out.

That happened a lot when she was with Percy Jackson. Her well constructed walls tumbled down all around her, leaving her vulnerable.

"Why would you do that."

Annabeth shrugged. "Why do most people try to kill themselves? I didn't want to live anymore." She paused a moment. "They say I'm crazy."

"They said that about me too. I'm pretty sure you're not the only one here."

"No, I mean like legitimately crazy. Like the doctors didn't think that I should even come here because I was that crazy."

"How so?"

"When I was little, five or so, I used to have these nightmares. They were terrible. They weren't about monsters or any of that little kid shit. They were about death.

I used to die every night.

The doctors actually said that my heart stopped for seven minutes each night when they were monitoring me."

Annabeth saw shivers run down Percy's spine.

"I used to scream so loud that I would wake up my neighbors. I would wake up bloodied and bruised. The doctors were convinced that I was hurting myself while I slept. I was only five mind you yet they treated me like I was sixteen.

They wanted to lock me up in an insane asylum. I was out of control at night. They had to strap me down. Thankfully Chiron was willing to take me in here when I was only six. I've been here ever since then.

My parents never visit. My mom's dead. Dad's too busy and my step mother thinks that I'm the devil incarnate… or at least possessed. She doesn't want me anywhere near my little step-brothers in fear that I'll hurt them."

Annabeth unbuttoned her shirt and shrugged it off, leaving her in a tank top. Even though it was fall the air was still humid and sticky. She brushed away a piece of hair that stuck to her forehead.

"Last year I collapsed. I didn't want to live anymore.

I was depressed and crazy.

So I tried to drown myself." She shrugged. "But somebody pulled me out of the water. No one knows who it was. But maybe I'm just imagining it and it really was no one and I just pulled myself out. But the weird thing is that I was too far gone.

When you were where I was, you don't stop yourself. You just want to get it over with. You don't change your mind at the last minute.

I was lost in the labyrinth of my mind.

And I couldn't get out."

She paused, not knowing what else to say.

"Did you ever get out?" Percy asked quietly.

Annabeth shook her head. "I'm still trying to find my way out. But it's pretty damn dark in here."

They sat there, the sun sinking in the distance. Anyone who would have seen them would have thought it romantic.

But it was anything but.

"I really don't have anything to say," Percy said.

That was new.

"We're all just broken people telling other broken people how to deal with this broken world," Annabeth said, shaking her head.

"True."

"I have no idea why I told all of that to you."

"For what it's worth I'm glad that you did."

"Glad that I made you glad."

"If it helps, I don't think you're any more crazy than I am."

"Yeah that doesn't help Percy, you're pretty crazy."

The corner of Percy's lips quirked up.

Annabeth heaved a sigh. "Why does shit always happen to the people who don't want it?"

"If it helps I left Luke lying on the ground in the dorm, crying for him mommy," Percy offered.

Annabeth looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "You did what?"

"I only finished what you started really," Percy said, defending himself. "I must say, that slap left a very beautiful bruise. He's going to have that for a while."

"Good," Annabeth muttered. "The douche bag."

"True, I knew that he was a douchebag from the beginning," Percy said.

"Why because you're one?"

"Ha ha ha. You make me laugh. No I can smell douchebag from miles away."

"You and Malcolm both," Annabeth muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing, just one of the boys in my literature class who volunteers at the library with me sometimes said the same thing about Luke."

"I need to meet this Malcolm, he sounds like my type of guy."

Annabeth stretched and stood up, Percy following her lead.

"Thanks for listening to me," she whispered.

"Anytime Chase."

**AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears AThousandYears**

Percy followed Annabeth back to the party. He thought that she was brave for going back. He watched as she reconstructed her mask and stood up, looking stern and solemn. Her lips were still slightly swollen from the brutality of Luke's kisses and her hair was a mess but her eyes were alight with fire and he knew that she was going to be okay.

"Do you want a hug?" He blurted out.

Annabeth's forehead wrinkled and he cursed himself for saying that out loud. Of course she didn't want a hug. She was Annabeth Chase, the ice queen. She probably froze over countries and then sang about it.

Then Annabeth did something he would never expect in a million years.

It made him almost question his sanity.

Then again he was pretty sure that he wasn't sane anymore.

Annabeth tentatively wrapped her arms around Percy. For a minute Percy felt high. He smelled her lemon shampoo in her hair and nearly fainted. Gods that was amazing. He wrapped his arms around her and smiled.

It ended far too soon for his liking. He found, with a scary realization, that he wouldn't have minded standing there for the rest of the night, her arms wrapped around his.

"Come on, they're probably wondering where we are. We wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea," Annabeth said.

_I wish that their suspicions could be true_. Percy nearly slapped himself. What was he thinking? He was contemplating voluntarily checking himself into a mental asylum. Annabeth Chase was making him go crazier than he already was.

Were those butterflies in his stomach?

If they were then they better be very, very manly butterflies.

Percy trailed after Annabeth back to the senior's dormitories. Piper and Leo were out on the porch. Nico had disappeared once again. "There you are we were freaking out, afraid that you had gotten eaten by one of the monsters in the woods," Leo said, flinging himself on Percy awkwardly. Percy saw Annabeth smirk out of the corner of his eye.

"Um… glad to know that you care," Percy said, pushing Leo off of him. Piper laughed from her spot on the porch and then turned to Annabeth.

"You okay Chase?" She asked, concerned.

Annabeth nodded. "I'm fine."

The door flew open and Luke came running out, or more hobbling out. He had an icepack pressed to his face. "Annabeth I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened. I…"

Annabeth cut him off with an icy glare. "Oh go fuck yourself Luke."

**Okay I'm sorry I added in that last word… well no I'm not that sorry. Since I've rated this story PG-13 for language, a few future scenes and violence I decided to use my one f word. You see in PG-13 movies, they're allowed one f word. So I decided to use my one f word. Sorry I just felt like it really fit for Annabeth to say that. So yeah…**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

_He pulled her freezing body closer to his own in an attempt to warm her. Her lips were a sickly, icy blue like the ice that floated around them. They were drifting in a sea of death. The waves were dark like a snake's venom, biting at their small makeshift raft. He didn't know what exactly happened, he just remembered kissing Arianna and then a screeching alarm echoing throughout the grandiose ship. _

_ The unsinkable ship was sinking. _

_ Arianna pointed out the irony of the whole situation. It had made him smile, only she would be pointing out literary devices at a time like this. _

_ He had first seen her when she was reading a book in a small hallway, her back pressed against the walls and her brows furrowed, concentrating. Her lips moved silently as she read the thick volume to herself. It was the Odyssey by Homer. She was a student, a surprising occupation for a girl like her, who was studying science at a famous university that he couldn't remember. She had won free passage on the ship for her paper on the periodic trends of the Periodic table. _

_ Arianna was the most brilliant person, man or woman, he had ever met. _

_ Looking at it now, it was her brilliance which was killing her. If she had been a dumb, ordinary girl without those intelligent grey eyes then maybe she would never be here, freezing to death in an ocean of ghosts. _

_ In a way they were never supposed to meet. She was engaged to a handsome, country doctor who was waiting at the end of the voyage for her. She was poor, having struggled to make her own for most of her life. Daughter to two school teachers, Arianna had never lived the easy life. _

_ He, on the other hand, was the son of a rich sea captain who was friends with the owner of the ship which had allowed him to get one of the best tickets offered. He was courting a Miss Rebecca Darling, the daughter of a rich banker. _

_ The rules of society were designed so that Arianna and he could never be together. _

_ But somehow the rules were designed to be broken. Most were. _

_ For some strange reason he had recognized Arianna Collins from somewhere. She was a vague dream that had echoed throughout every aspect of his life. A concept of beauty that was always present and yet always fleeting at the last moment. A question that he never could find the answer to in any overly thick, dull book he looked in._

_ Once he had pondered the idea of soul mates but had dismissed it as illogical. _

_ But upon meeting Arianna Collins the idea was reintroduced. Could a man have a soul mate? The idea had been the topic of many romantic books which Arianna had turned her nose up at whenever he mentioned them. "They don't contain any knowledge unless you are interested in the proper way to seduce a man. But what is the world without seduction I suppose? Women would be very bored without it."_

_ Arianna was different which led him to engaging her in conversation whenever possible and inviting her to sit at his table for meals. His friend and cousin Nicolas thoroughly enjoyed the girl._

_ He had remembered her last night. _

_ He had the dream again or more the nightmare. The one which made his mother place funny smelling herbs under his pillow when he was a little boy. He tasted the ash and was choking on it. He felt the fire burning his skin, melting it until he was nothing more than dry bones mixed in with the earth. He touched the blood which seeped from a girl's chest from where the bullet was lodged. He heard the choking sobs of a girl. But it was dark, he was blind. It was an onslaught of senses and a deep depression and longing to end it all._

_ He felt like he wanted to die._

_ When he woke up he remembered. He remembered the wars, the chaos, the destruction, the lives, the lies, the betrayal. _

_ The death._

_ He had shrugged on his coat and went running through the halls, barefoot and not properly dressed. He must have looked like an escapee from an insane house. _

_ Even though it was early he found Arianna sitting in a small dining hall for the lower class passengers, a book on the psychology of man in front of her and a pencil twirling absent mindedly between her fingers. "Arianna," he said breathlessly, sliding into the seat in front of her._

_ "Paris," she said, her voice was wistful and breathy as she looked up and stared into his deep sea green eyes. "I've been waiting for you." Her hands began to shake and he reached out and took them in his, rubbing his thumb absentmindedly in circles over them. _

_ "You're hands are cold," he whispered. He lifted them up to his lips and kissed them. Her face turned bright red and she hastily withdrew her hands from his grasp._

_ "Yes well I was on the deck earlier so they must not have warmed up all the way," she said, placing them in her lap and staring down. He knew that this was improper but damn it all. He had known her for centuries, he had been in love with her for longer, surely this was an excuse for his lack of propriety. _

_ "I had a dream last night." He looked at her solemnly, no trace of his usual crooked grin anywhere on his face. "I remember you… me… us." She looked up at him quickly, her grey eyes wide. He saw the signs of fear and anxiousness hidden in their depths, emotions that she so often tried to hide from him. She buried her face in her hands and shook her head._

_ "It's illogical… I can't… I couldn't… there's no possible way I could know you from… another life," she cried._

_ "But you do, no matter how illogical it is Arianna, you do. And you love me and I love you. Perhaps this time it will be different. There must come a time when it all ends." He reached out and cupped her face in his hands, brushing his thumb over her cheek to wipe away the tear which trickled down._

_ "I'm engaged. I have a life, a mother and father, brothers. I can't die. I don't want to," she whispered to him. "I don't think I'm that brave this time around."_

_ He shook his head. "You've never been braver. And even if you are afraid that means nothing to me. Fear is normal. Those who do not fear do not live."_

_ "You sound as if you have read my philosophy books. Perhaps Marcus Aurelius?" She teased and he breathed a sigh of relief to hear her playful tone._

_ "Aren't you two just the cutest things since that celebrity couple everyone's fawning over?" A slightly plump man sat down next to him and took a drink of something in a tumbler. "Almost as cute as Arthur and Guinevere were. Too bad you'll have the same fate."_

_ "You! You cut my hair!" Paris exclaimed._

_ "I've cut a lot of people's hair over the years. I've destroyed a lot of people's souls. I've ruined a lot of people's lives. What makes you think that I've cut your hair? I haven't cut hair in decades," the man smirked. Paris slammed his fist down on the table._

_ "Listen you codfish, I know what I remember, you were there the day I died."_

_ "Which day? You seem to die a lot. And how can you know that you really remember? How do you know that you're only remembering what _they_ want you to remember, not what you _need_ to remember."_

_ "You speak in riddles. I don't like it. Riddles mean that you're a charlatan and you have information for us but you don't want to tell us. You want us to guess," Arianna said, glaring at him. "You have the look of a cherub but you act like a devil."_

_ "Oh I like this one! Aribella is it? Or is that who you will be next? Perhaps who you have already been? You mustn't blame an old man like me, you tend to forget different versions of people, it's not really my fault."_

_ "I feel as if you border on insanity," she said._

_ "Coming from a girl who believes that she has lived dozens of different lives, yes I am the insane one. You know what is insane? Not being able to drink wine. I don't know how sober people live."_

_ "Are you going to tell us anything useful or are you merely here to advise us to drown our sorrows in alcohol?" Paris demanded._

_ "Neither, I'm afraid that I am not exceedingly useful in helping you with this situation," the man grinned._

_ "Then why are you here?"_

_ "Because I do enjoy taunting people. It makes my otherwise exceedingly boring day. Cheers," he raised his tumbler and then disappeared._

_ Paris shook himself out of the visions which were swimming in front of his eyes. He had heard that when you died you saw flashbacks of his life. He supposed that he should know what happens to man when he faced Death, after all he was an expert but he did not remember what it felt like to have your life pulled from you, what it felt like to take your last breath._

_ "P...P…Paris?" Paris looked down at the shivering girl in his arms and pulled her closer. She wasn't going to last any longer. She had been a genius to use a piece of driftwood as a raft but it was slowly sinking, they couldn't continue this any longer. _

_ "Yes love?" he asked, wishing that he could reach out and brush away a stray curl from in front of her eyes but he was too cold to move at all._

_ "We're going to die aren't we?" She asked. _

_ "You're not," he whispered. He had thought about it; he throw himself into the waves and face the demonic chill with its cold, grasping fingers and hopefully Arianna would be found. _

_ Her eyes which were slowly closing and glazing over shot open with a renewed fire. "What do you mean? What are you going to do?" _

_ "I've thought about it. Maybe if one of us lives then this whole thing will end," he said quietly, staring in horror at the bobbing body of a bloated passenger, frozen in the sea. He could only pray that Arianna would not see them but it was wishful thinking. The horrors surrounded them on all sides. _

_ The ocean had become one mass grave._

_ "No, no don't you dare Paris. I don't care about if I die. Living would be worse than Death. You would be dead. If I let go of you I know that I would never forgive myself even if I lived for a thousand more years. I don't care. A thousand years alive is nothing compared to two seconds with you. A thousand years, I'd wait for you for a thousand years and longer."_

_ "But—"_

_ "No. Listen to me Paris. I don't care, I don't care if we die here as long as we're together. Don't you get it? It's fated. We _both_ die. Don't try to cheat it. Cheaters never prosper."_

_ "Spoken like a true student."_

_ "Be quiet and just hold me. Please." He did as she asked._

_ Four hours later the rescue crews found the two stiff, frozen bodies of two lovers, arms entangled. Their makeshift raft was half submerged into the freezing water, their lips were painted blue like the heavens. _

_ Death had found them again._

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"How are they treating you Percy?" Sally Jackson asked, sitting across from her son in the dining hall, studying him as if looking for any signs that he had been hurt or abused. Percy forced a grin in order to try and convince his mom that he was fine.

"It's all good Mom. Chiron, the guy in the wheelchair that greeted you? he's awesome and Mr. D isn't all that bad once you get past the all of the annoying aspects… which is pretty much every aspect except for the fact that he prefers Coke over Pepsi."

Sally chortled and smiled, glad to see that her son was the same boy she had left. She had been worried when he saw the dark circles underneath his eyes that he wasn't being treated properly. Sally loved her boy more than anyone else, even more than Paul.

"How are your classes coming along?" She asked.

"Fine, tough as hell but other than that it's all normal." Percy purposely failed to mention the _special_ classes which were offered for him to take. He didn't want his mother to freak out. "And how… how are the dreams Percy?" She asked hesitantly.

Percy shrugged. "Fine." Sally nodded and then dropped the subject, not wanting to press on any further about her son's problems. Sometimes she liked to close her eyes and pretend that nothing had ever changed with her sweet, beautiful little boy. She hated seeing him in pain and the nightmares which tormented him often times caused her to have her own.

"Do you have any friends?" She asked, praying that Percy hadn't beaten any one up like he had done at the last few schools he attended. It wasn't that he was aggressive, he was just sensitive. Sometimes it was the shiest people that tended to lash out the worst.

"Nah, I'm more of a loner, you know like wolf."

Sally rolled her eyes. "Honey, wolves hunt in packs." Apparently Percy wasn't taking any sort of zoology classes.

"Then I'm a lone wolf or something, aren't there some of those?" Sally smiled at her son. "Then who is this?" She asked as she looked at someone who stood behind Percy. He swiveled around in his chair, surprised to see Nico standing awkwardly behind them, writing his hands together. His dark eyes were pleading with Percy to go with him.

"Mom this is Nico, Nico this is my mom Sally," Percy said hastily as he made introductions.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am," Nico said in a stiff, formal tone. He looked at Sally with a curious almost wistful expression. Percy realized that most students at Camp Half-Blood didn't have parents who visited them, even on Parents' Day. Looking around the cafeteria, Percy could count on two hands and a few toes how many parents had come. Sure some of the students might be legitimately crazy but was that reason enough to abandon your kid?

"The pleasure is all mine Nico. I haven't met one of Percy's friends since he was in the seventh grade." Percy self consciously flinched at the mention of seventh grade. It wasn't a topic that he particularly liked to talk about with anyone, not even his mom.

"Percy, we need your help," Nico said, his voice strained.

"Now?" He asked, his voice resembling that of a two year old who didn't want to pick up their toys.

"Percy it's Annabeth." Percy bit his tongue and cast a sharp glance at his mom and then back at Nico.

"What about her?" He wasn't really surprised, it was always Annabeth, there was always something wrong with her. To be honest though, he didn't mind it. In fact he loved helping her, no matter how stupid or annoying she got. Not that Annabeth Chase could be stupid. It was virtually against her DNA.

"She's being… stupid."

Well then…

"Define stupid," Percy said slowly.

"Reckless."

"Where are you guys?" He asked.

"The rock climbing wall, you know the one that once had lava but they had to get rid of it because it was considered a safety hazard." Sally's eyes popped open at the mention of lava but Percy merely nodded. "Okay, I'll meet you over there in a few minutes." Nico shoved his hands into his black jacket and then headed out the door.

"Lava?" Sally asked raising any eyebrow at her son. Percy shrugged. "It's just a rumor. I'm sorry but I have to go."

Sally smiled. "I understand, my little boy is growing up isn't he? Who is this Annabeth girl? I'm assuming it's a girl, if not than that poor boy must have had very disturbed parents to have named him that." Percy smirked.

"Nah she's a she and she's just a girl that likes to kick my butt all the time. She's my partner for a history project and tutors me in Greek and Latin so I guess you could say we're kind of friends."

"Is she… sane?" Sally asked hesitantly.

Percy shrugged again. "Are any of us? I'm sorry I have to leave early but I've really got to go and make sure she's okay." Sally nodded and stood up to hug her son, reveling in the fact of how much he had grown up in the past few weeks. She had been afraid that he would have taken two steps backwards in this place, not leaps and bounds forwards.

"Go and be the hero Percy," she whispered in his ear. "It's who you were born to be." Percy hugged her back and then turned to leave the cafeteria.

"I'll see if I can call you!" He said over his shoulder as he pushed open the door, the nippy breeze from outside blowing the pathetic banner which read: WELCOME PARENTS and hung over the entrance. Sally watched him go, smiling to herself.

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"What are you doing up there Chase?" Percy called as he craned his neck to try and get a better view up the massive rock climbing wall. It was an impressive feat of architecture, bordering the large fence which circled around the whole property of the school. It wasn't a normal rock climbing wall what with little notches in the walls where you could place your feet and hands. There was none of that. Instead it was just rock and you had to find your own crevices to secure your feet.

Annabeth sat at the top of it, her arms wrapped around her knees, staring out across the fence. Percy had yet to make it to the top, most kids didn't and he wondered what the view was like.

"She's been throwing rocks at anyone that tries to climb up," Piper said, leaning against the wall in the shade. Her, Leo, Grover, and Nico had been walking by when they saw her and called up to her. They were greeted with a fistful of stones to the face, evident by the little bruises peppering Grover's.

"I think that it might be her time of the month," Leo said in a stage whisper. "Only reason to explain why girls are bitchy." He was awarded a punch to the shoulder by Piper. Sometimes Percy wondered why the two of them didn't date. He once asked them and Piper looked mortified, Leo only laughed. "She's not good enough for all this," he said, motioning to himself. "Trust me, from where I come from I've got hoards of fangirls wanting to get a piece of this." But Percy sensed something in both Piper and Leo, like they were already in love but had their hearts broken and didn't want to try again.

"Hey Chase can I come up?" He yelled again. This time she turned around and peered down at them.

"Whatever Seaweed Brain," she said.

"Seaweed Brain?" Grover asked, Percy shrugged.

"Are you sure you two didn't do anything… else last night because obviously she's got a pet name for you and girls only do that when—"

"If you finish that sentence then I swear I will cut off your tongue and feed it to the dogs," Piper growled at Leo. "Leave the two of them alone, it isn't funny."

"It's alright," Percy said nonchalantly. "We didn't _do_ anything Leo so just cool your jets." He looked up at Annabeth. "Hey Chase wanna give me a hand trying to get up there?" He called. "Knowing my rotten luck I'll just fall and break my skull open."

Annabeth heaved a heavy sigh. "Really you people are so stupid. There's a rope ladder in the back." Percy raised an eyebrow. "Go look if you don't believe me."

Sure enough, there was an old, fraying rope ladder connected to the stone wall around the back of the large structure. He climbed up it quickly. "Well that was efficient," he said as he sat down next to Annabeth.

"There's always another way in or out, up or down if you only look for it," Annabeth shrugged. "No one really looks for it. It's impossible to climb up the rocks, trust me I've tried every way there is… I've had the time… so I started looking for another way because there had to be _some_ way to get up here, you can't just invent something that doesn't work. That's when I found the ladder. I think the only other people to find it are the Stoll brothers and that's only because Clarisse got so fed up with their jokes that she threw some of their stuff up here."

"Well I'm glad you found it because my next option was to stand at the bottom and start saying 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair.'" Percy teased. Annabeth snorted.

"Not very original."

"At least I tried to bring some form of literature into it, I thought you'd be impressed with my attempts at being studious."

"Please Seaweed Brain you couldn't be studious if your life depended on it. Take our project for example, you didn't do a thing."

"I didn't know we were working on it."

"We weren't. I already finished it," Annabeth said smugly.

"Maybe you're just an overachiever," Percy retorted.

"Maybe I am but better an overachiever than an underachiever."

"With the way you work yourself you'll be dead by the time you're thirty." Annabeth was silent and Percy winced. "I'm sorry I should have said that, that was uncalled for."

"It's okay, it really doesn't matter. You know sticks and stones and all of that shit." The duo was silent again and Percy became very aware of the group down on the ground that was staring up at them, wondering what was going on.

"Well this took a very sudden, drastic turn to pessimistic land. What are you even doing up here?" Annabeth cracked her knuckles and popped her neck; Percy prayed that she wasn't planning to beat him up, he still had bruises from their last fight.

"Just thinking," she said a little bitterly, her fingers digging into the crevices of the rocks. "And somehow thinking is reason for throwing rocks at people?" He questioned.

"Of course. Thinking is a dangerous activity. How do you think anything in history has ever happened? It's because of thoughts."

"Really? I would naturally assume that it was due to a lacking of thought." Annabeth pondered this for a moment.

"That actually was not that bad of an idea," she said slowly.

"Don't act all surprised, I can be smart when I want to," Percy grinned.

"I seriously doubt that. You just get lucky."

"Deny it all you want Chase, you're just jealous that you didn't come up with that idea and I did." Annabeth smiled a little but just shook her head. "You're insufferable."

"But you love me," he teased and then realized what he had said, his face turning crimson. "Oh gods I didn't mean that," he said hastily. Annabeth was silent again. "So what were you thinking about?"

"They didn't come," she said quietly. "I hate this day so much, more than I hate Christmas."

"You hate Christmas? What the heck? Are you even human?" Percy asked, his eyes popping wide open. Who on earth hated Christmas?

"It's not that I don't like it, I just don't like it."

"You make no sense."

Annabeth sighed. "I love the anticipation of it all, the planning, the organizing, the long wait up to it. I know call me crazy but I love Christmas Eve more than Christmas because I get all excited. I liked wrapped presents more than I like unwrapped presents. It's a mystery you know? You get to wonder and think about what it's going to be and what's going to happen. But then Christmas comes a long and you realize that suddenly it's all over like that," she snapped her fingers for demonstration.

"You're still strange," Percy said, shaking his head. "I love Christmas. My mom always makes blue pancakes in the morning and then we go down to Times Square and drink hot chocolate and just watch people."

"See I bet I would like Christmas more if I wasn't stuck here," Annabeth muttered. "Or if I had parents that even cared a little bit about me."

"Oh…" Percy said quietly. And then he remembered what today was. It was Parents' Day and Annabeth's parents were nowhere to be seen. Why hadn't they come? Annabeth was one of the least insane if she was even insane at all.

"I want to go over the wall," she said determinedly. Percy looked at her confused.

"What?"

"I want to go over the wall," she repeated again. "Did you not hear me the first time? I want to leave here, just for a few hours. That's what I've been thinking about. I haven't gone outside of Goode for years. I want to leave."

"I don't think that's possible, there is this wall right in front of us."

"Yes… right in front of us," Annabeth repeated. "Look at it Percy, the wall is right there, I could almost touch it." Percy's brows furrowed, she did have a point. To demonstrate it, Annabeth leaned forwards, wobbling a bit, her fingers brushing the stone. "I've been thinking about it. Why would the rock climbing wall be here? Why not near the forest or by the obstacle course? Why is it so close to the fence?"

Percy paused, trying to think. He gave up and threw his hands in the air. "Why?"

Annabeth's grey eyes sparkled with excitement. "Because someone wants us to get out of here."

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"You want to do what?" Nico asked, sitting up straight from his seat on the couch in the Rec room.

"We want to go over the wall," Percy said again, motioning to him and Annabeth.

"And why on earth would you want to do that?" Grover asked, nervously munching on a tin can. Percy cringed a little while he watched him, that could not be healthy for him in any way shape or form. "We're not supposed to leave."

"Exactly why we're doing it," Annabeth said a little defiantly.

"And why are you wanting to do it with… _us_? Just a few days ago you hated our guts," Nico said a little suspiciously.

Annabeth glared at him causing him to shrink back a little. "Let's just say that Percy has changed my view about all of you."

"I still don't get why you would want to go on the other side of the wall," Piper said, clutching a tattered pillow to her chest. "We've all heard stories about what's happened to people that try to do it." A murmur arose from the group. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Please, they're just stories. If Columbus believed the stories of the earth being flat would he have sailed? Which by the way Columbus was actually not the one to discover the United States even though we like to claim that he did. It was actually—"

"I wasn't aware that this was going to turn into a nap session," Leo said, letting out a yawn.

"What stories are you talking about?" Percy interrupted him, trying to avoid the very real possibility that Annabeth could murder Leo before their very eyes with the stare she was giving him.

Piper shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "They are just stories like Annabeth said," she said hesitantly.

"But stories always have some ounce of truth. Anyone that goes out of Camp Half-Blood, whether sneaking out or dragged out kicking and screaming never comes back alive," a new voice said from the doorway. The group whirled around and Leo groaned. "Dude can you not read the sign? It says PRIVATE MEETING in case you never passed third grade."

Jason Grace rolled his eyes. "If you don't want people to come in then don't intrigue them by saying private Leo." He strolled into the room confidently.

"Oh so I'm Leo now?" Leo said, raising one of his eyebrows. "When did this occur."

"I want to help you guys," Jason said, turning to Percy and Annabeth who were clearly the leaders of the ragtag team.

"And why would you do that?" Percy growled, still angry at him for what he did to his friends.

"Let's just say I realized what a jack ass I've been," Jason said solemnly.

"There are ears in here that wished to stay virgin just a little longer," Leo groaned, quickly covering his ears dramatically.

"Oh shut up Leo, you use more foul language than most people in this room. Need I remind you of what you said when you set the obstacle course on fire?" Piper said, adverting her eyes from Jason, suddenly interested by a loose strand of string.

"Pipes," Jason said softly. "I'm sorry."

Piper looked up, her kaleidoscope eyes blazing. "Don't even start Jason." Jason swallowed nervously and nodded, turning back to Percy.

"Look I know you probably haven't heard the best report about me but I can help, I'm one of the best fighters in my grade."

"Anyone can fight," Annabeth spoke up for Percy. "But can you think? What's going to stop you from doing something stupid like that display you gave last night? What's going to stop you from boasting about all of this to your friends?"

"Let's just say that Piper sure packs a punch. I think she knocked some sense into me," Jason said seriously. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"That's not going to do it for me Grace. I want to get out of here and actually be a normal teenager for a few hours and I don't want some idiot teenage boy that thinks more about his hormones than he does about others ruining it for me."

"Oh snap, do you want some ice for that burn?" Leo said saucily.

"Not helping Valdez," Annabeth bit.

"Listen Annabeth, I want to go out there because I want to find Thalia." The room grew silent. Annabeth's eyes became ablaze with fury but she said nothing for a few minutes as if mulling it over. Finally she nodded and spoke.

"Fine, you can come along but if you do one thing then I swear that I string you up in the highest tree in the forest." Jason nodded stoically. "That goes for the rest of you too. Meeting adjourned. We meet back here tomorrow, same place, same time." Annabeth hurried out of the room and Percy followed her quickly.

"Annabeth wait!" He called, grabbing her arm. She whirled around and stared at him. "I want to make sure that you get out of here too but why? It's not like anything has changed out there. It's the world out there, millions of people live out there, it's not like it's any big deal."

Annabeth stared at Percy for a moment. "That's what they want us to think," Annabeth said slowly, but Percy saw that her eyes were filled with fear. "Come with me," she whispered, heading out of the building and towards the library. Percy had to jog to keep up with her long, determined strides.

There was almost no one in the library and she hurried to the back where they usually studied Greek and Latin. She ran her fingers over the books until she found one and pulled it out. Rifling through the pages she pulled out a crinkled piece of paper, placing it on the table in front of Percy. "I keep it in here because there are no cameras back here, it's the oldest part of Goode and they search our rooms when we're in class so there was no way I could keep it there."

She ran her hands over the piece of paper trying to smooth it out. "What is it?" Percy asked, looking over her shoulder. The room was filled tension and a feeling of dread filled Percy's stomach.

"Sometimes Mr. D has me work down in the sublevels with the doctors, doing filing for them, running errands that sort of thing. I found this two days ago. You have a right to read it. It's about you anyway."

Percy's heart raced as he looked at the paper. Sure enough his name: Perseus E. Jackson was stamped on the top of it.

**Subject responded to tests. Syringe enhanced dreams. More tests should be ordered in order to further study the capacity of the brain. Extraordinary specimen, could be missing link. Must test further. Report to P.A.I.L Inc.**

"Percy, we're lab rats to them. Something is going on here. And I don't think any of us are _actually_ crazy."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

He couldn't sleep that night.

No matter how many times he fluffed his pillow, kicked his sheets off, refluffed his pillow, rolled over, pulled his sheets back on, and guzzled glasses of water, Percy couldn't go to sleep. He was too busy thinking about the piece of paper Annabeth had shown him. It made him feel as if he were living in a bad sci-fi movie.

What did it mean that he responded to the syringe? Was he nothing more than a lab rat in their eyes, a guinea pig that they could try their newfangled ideas on? He had once had a nightmare where he was transformed into a guinea pig, it was not a pleasant experience and he didn't want it to actually happen in real life. Especially since there was a loud, bloodthirsty group of pirates also in his dreams. Pirates were never that awesome in his eyes.

He let out a heavy groan and slammed his pillow against his face. Annabeth had told him to get some sleep but whenever someone told him to get sleep he usually ended up doing the opposite. "I hate life," he murmured to himself before flinging the pillow across the room at his dresser. It rattled and a picture of him and his mom toppled over and off the dresser. "Crap," he groaned, standing up and shuffling over to the picture frame. He picked it up, brushing it off in the process, and then placed it proudly on his dresser. He was a mama's boy, he's admit it, but not like all the kids back in elementary school liked to call him. He just loved his mother. What was wrong with that?

The door opened and Percy let out a yelp. Quickly he whipped his blanket off of his bed and pulled it over his bare chest. _I really need to stop sleeping without a shirt on, with all these wackos there's no telling who's going to enter my room_, he thought to himself.

He couldn't admit that he was surprised to see Annabeth Chase walk into the room, her cool and collected smirk plastered on her face. "You trying to hide your lack of stomach muscles Seaweed Brain or do you just think you're a girl or something?" She quipped. Percy glowered at her. How she could go from being someone he found himself liking to being so infuriating in only a few hours was a mystery.

"Maybe I just don't think that you can handle all of this," he retorted back. Annabeth just snorted and chortled under her breath.

"Sure you do Seaweed Brain, sure you do." She flounced over to his bed and perched herself on it, staring at him.

"What's with the seaweed brain comments?" He asked, pulling a dirty sweatshirt which he found lying on the floor over his messy black hair.

"It's a term of endearment," she said sarcastically.

"Sure it is," he rolled his eyes.

"You don't believe me? I'm wounded?" Annabeth said with mock theatrics. "It's because your brain is always filled with kelp. I thought it was fitting. Don't you?"

"No I don't," Percy glowered and Annabeth laughed. He really did like her laugh, he liked it a lot.

"Well deal with it because it's staying especially since I now know that you don't like it."

"Remind me never to tell you my honest opinion or else you'll use it against me."

"Now where would the fun be in that?"

"Did you just come into my room in the middle of the night to mock me or is there an actual reason that you came?" Annabeth shrugged and picked at the hem of her shirt. Percy swallowed as he realized that she was wearing her pajamas, if anyone was to walk in here it would look _very, very_ wrong. He wondered if she knew what it looked like. "Look as much as I love our little _bonding_ times that we have when you scare the living daylights out of me at night, I would really like it if you could leave so that I could get some sleep. If we're going to scale that fence tomorrow then I need to be able to actually think properly."

"Do you ever think properly? And besides I know that you weren't asleep. I'm surprised you didn't wake the whole house when you threw that pillow."

"I don't even want to know how you knew that I threw my pillow," Percy muttered.

"My room is right above yours," she said, pointing up towards the ceiling.

"Well that's nice to know and here I thought that you were just a stalker who liked to camp outside of my room."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Please I might be a psycho but I'm not a stalker. That's just a little bit over the top for me." She grinned a little at him and Percy couldn't help but grin back too. "So are you going to sit down or are you just going to stare at me like I'm holding a gun to your head or something." Percy plopped down next to her and leaned against the wall.

"Tell me about Thalia."

Annabeth looked at him, slightly startled. Her eyes grew wider and Percy could see the wheels turning in her mind. She looked away, down at her hands, at the window, anywhere but at Percy. "She was my best friend," she whispered. Percy stayed silent, allowing her to continue if she wanted to. She acted like a scared animal, too much pressure and she would turn and run.

"She, Luke, and I were thick as thieves when we were younger. She was Luke's age but she was held back a year so she was in all of my classes. It wasn't that she was dumb, she just didn't care. She didn't' get the point of studying and doing school like a normal kid if the rest of the world didn't consider her normal. But she was an incredible fighter. As good as Reyna."

"As good as you?" Percy interrupted. Annabeth shrugged.

"She was different, rebellious and arrogant. Thalia was convinced that she didn't need to be here. Her mother dumped her and her brother Jason here when they were younger and never came back. It made her angry, furious at everyone except for Jason, me and Luke. She would fight with anyone. There used to be a girl, Zoe, who was always arguing with Thalia, they couldn't agree on anything. Anything Zoe said, Thalia had to say the opposite. I don't think that Thalia hated her, she just wanted someone to take her anger out on. Zoe died a few years ago." Annabeth got a faraway look on her face. "She once beat up Clarisse for fun.

For a few years Thalia was just angry, she wasn't necessarily crazy like some of us, just angry. Her brother, Jason, almost died because he thought that he could fly. Thalia… she didn't seem different than a normal teenager, I mean every teenager is angry with the world. Thalia and I were close, we always had each other's backs and I never saw anything… different." Annabeth took a deep breath before continuing.

"But then she started getting called to the doctors more and more often, her appointments started happening twice a week and then every other day and then every day. They were always at ungodly hours, late at night, in the middle of the day, early morning. She grew tired and thin, she stopped eating. That's when we saw the 'true Thalia' the Thalia which got her set here with the rest of us.

Thalia was a lightning addict. Sparks, electricity, storms, everything made her go wild. Her eyes would light up during lightning storms, she got… well it was like she got a drug addict's high whenever that electric shock you get when you touch someone happened. She got dangerous, crazed, wild. She started trying to get electrocuted. It was all just a game for her. And yet someone she managed to live every time. She started talking about seeing things like flying horses, talking snake women, _different worlds_. When she was fifteen there was a really bad electrical storm. It was terrible and no one was allowed outside because it was as if the lightning was striking right by the camp. Thalia climbed the tallest pine tree which everyone likes to say protects the camp from all of the 'normal' people. It was like she knew that the lightning was going to strike.

She nearly died that day. The doctors took her away and I haven't seen her since."

Percy was silent. "That sucks," he finally said honestly.

Annabeth shrugged. "Yeah… yeah I guess it does. But I have to find her. The only reason I'm letting Jason come with us is because I need his help finding Thalia."

"Why? What's so important about Thalia?" Percy asked.

"Thalia left me a note before she climbed that tree, we call it Thalia's tree now. She told me: _Beware P.A.I.L._ and that _all is not as it seems_."

"Pail? Why do we need to be aware of pail? Like pale? Like albinos are? Or pail like what those little girls in those old fashioned prairie movies carry?"

Annabeth shook her head and murmured something about Percy being an idiot. "P-A-I-L," she clarified. "It's obviously an acronym," she said.

"Well obviously," Percy said sarcastically.

"Honestly Seaweed Brain don't you remember what was written on that sheet of paper: P.A.I.L Inc. Something's going on here and I don't know about you but I don't like not knowing things."

"I thought you liked it here," Percy said, yawning. Now he was really tired. It was funny how that worked, when he wasn't tired nothing happened and then when he got tired Annabeth Chase shows up with important information.

Annabeth snorted. "I hate it here. If I could leave I would. I'm smart enough too but there are people like you who would be stuck here and I can't let that happen."

"Thanks for that Wise Girl," Percy said, glaring slightly at her. Annabeth raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised.

"Wise Girl?" She asked him.

"Yeah it's a term of endearment," he said sarcastically.

Annabeth was silent for a moment. "I don't think I've ever had a nickname before… other than Annie and I hate that."

"Well consider yourself nick named Wise Girl. Now can you please get out of here? I'm honestly tired now."

Annabeth gave him a small, hesitant smile. "Sorry 'bout that Jackson. I just… I couldn't sleep either so I thought that we could both not sleep together."

"It's all good, but now I'm seriously tired so if you could just," he made a shooing motion with his hands. Annabeth stood up and gave him a little wave.

"I'll see you tomorrow Jackson in class."

"Yep, see you tomorrow," Percy said, falling down onto his pillow. He watched her go, her long blonde curls swaying with her movement as she shut the door. He buried his face in his pillow and then let out a groan.

It smelled like Annabeth Chase.

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

It wasn't as if he had never had a hard time paying attention before in class.

Percy Jackson was known for falling asleep in class, doodling on the desk (not that he was a good artist or anything), throwing pieces of paper at people that annoyed him (which tended to be almost everyone) and overall not paying attention in class. So usually he wouldn't be surprised if he found himself barely being able to keep his eyes open but today was worse than usual.

He didn't even find amusement in the picture that Grover sent his way of Mrs. Dodds in his math class. It was a fairly realistic representation of the hag, complete with leathery wings and a whip of death. But the best that it did was make him smile for a few moments.

The quadratic equation was not going to be his best friend like Mrs. Dodds was saying, it would probably end up being his worst enemy, right up there with the Ideal Gas Law and how to spell "Mississippi."

"You looked like you were about ready to die in there," Grover said when the bell finally rang. Percy had grabbed his books and burst out of there like the room was on fire and everyone inside was going to burn.

"I was. I swear to the gods that that lady has it out for me, it's like she gets her daily pleasure out of torturing me," Percy said as they hurried down the stairs towards the doors. The sound of sneakers bounced against the walls and kids pushed past them to get to lockers. Percy had learned the hard way to carry around all of his books in his backpack when he was late for Poison class and the teacher made him chose between two identical vials to drink out of.

Luckily he kept the antidote to the poison on hand. He hated that class almost as much as his math class. The teacher didn't like to actually teach them how to determine the differences between poison and something like koolaid. Instead he turned it all into a game of chance and gambling. He was addicted to the rush like that bug thing from that Christmas or was it Halloween? movie that everyone liked. Percy never had liked that movie which had led to an argument with Annabeth about the merits of it during one of their tutoring sessions.

"It's the whole meaning behind the story, the allusions that it gives," Annabeth explained, slowly as if Percy was a little child who didn't understand anything about the world. How they had gotten to talking about this movie Percy couldn't remember.

"I don't care what it's about, it's creepy! It's about a dead guy trying to be Santa! Who would try to dress up like Santa! He wasn't even fat!"

"It's genius Jackson, that's what it is, it's genius," Annabeth said firmly.

"No it's weird. I mean they look like they're all clay!"

"That's because they are clay! It's claymation, it's stop motion, don't you know anything? It took around a hundred people three years to do that movie. They had to move these little dolls around for it, didn't you get that?"

"Of course I didn't get that. How did you get that?" Annabeth just huffed and folded her arms. "And what about the bug dude, you can't not admit that he wasn't the creepiest thing ever."

"He was supposed to you idiot! He's the boogie man!"

The more Percy thought about it, the more he realized that Annabeth and he fought about virtually anything and everything. Even the color shoes that Percy wore (So what he had gone thrift shopping once and the tiger print shoes had looked cool).

"Mrs. Dodds has it out for everyone, she even hates Annabeth," Grover said, slinging around his backpack so that it rested on his stomach and digging through it until he found a rotten apple core. Percy winced as Grover bit the core. He knew that he couldn't judge but still… a rotten apple?

"Someone doesn't like Annabeth Chase?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who doesn't like me?" Annabeth asked, walking up to meet them, her books tightly held in her arms. She looked confused, as if she couldn't possibly imagine someone not liking her.

"Mrs. Dodds," Grover said, chewing on his apple core.

Annabeth made a face. "She doesn't not like me," she protested.

"She's the only teacher to ever give you detention," Grover pointed out.

"What? The great Annabeth Chase has gotten a detention before? What is the world coming to?" Percy mocked. Annabeth glared at him.

"Shut up. I can't help it that she didn't understand how to properly graph cosine and sine functions and got the amplitude mixed up from the phase shift. She wouldn't listen to me when I tried to correct her. So now everyone goes around thinking that amplitude is how much you shift the graph over and phase shift is the amplitude!" She sounded as if it was the worst possible scenario to ever happen.

Percy looked at Grover. "Do you have any idea what the heck she's talking about?"

Grover shook his head. "Annabeth took Pre Calculus all the way back in ninth grade. Probably why Mrs. Dodds gave her a detention, because she didn't like being corrected by a little know it all freshman."

"I'm not a know it all!" Annabeth whined. "What's that look for?" She accused Percy who was staring at her with an open mouth.

"Why on this good earth would you take Pre Calculus as a freshman? Are you insane?" He blurted. Annabeth turned bright red and let out a huff of indignation.

"Well I'm sorry if my brain is a lot better than yours."

"That's beside the point. Why would you take Pre Calc as a freshman if you didn't have to?"

"You're so lazy Seaweed Brain," Annabeth huffed again. "Now are we going to go to the library to actually study Latin or Greek or are you just going to stand there all day gaping at me like I'm an extinct animal."

"Right, Latin. Greek. Dead languages. Stuff I don't understand and probably never will. As friendly as the quadratic equation or imaginary numbers, which I seriously don't get. How can a number be imaginary if you can't count it? It goes against everything that my third grade teacher taught me!"

"Stay focused Seaweed Brain," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Yeah if you think about it too much you might go into shock and visit your favorite place in the whole entire school. I'm sure that nurse would like to see you again. It'd be a relief from seeing Clarisse's ugly face all the time from all the fights she gets into." Percy shoved Grover.

"Let's go Wise Girl," he said grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the library.

"Oh no you don't," she said, ripping her hand out of his grip. "I refuse to be manhandled. I am an independent woman and deserve to be treated so. It's sickening how men treat women these days like they're nothing more than a—"

"Annabeth your feminist side is showing," Percy teased. She glared at him again. "So we're going tonight right?" He asked. "Did you manage to convince the Stoll brothers to give you everything you needed?"

Annabeth slugged him in the shoulder. "Shut up, do you want everyone to hear about what we're doing? Idiot." She hurried into the library, Percy trailing behind her.

"And yes I did get some stuff from Travis and Connor, of course they were incredibly interested in why on earth I would want any of it but I convinced them that I was doing a research paper on the outside world."

"And they believed that?"

"I can be pretty persuasive if I want to be."

"Why am I getting the feeling that you threatened to kill them if they didn't do as you said?" Percy asked. Annabeth shrugged as she sat down at their normal table, twirling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger and smiling a little.

"I have no idea," she said smugly.

"That's it I'm officially terrified of you," Percy said. "You need help."

"So I've been told." She opened one of their textbooks and started flipping through it. "The plan is to meet up by the rock climbing wall late tonight, after lights out. Think you can manage telling your friends that without letting the whole entire camp know?" She drummed her fingers impatiently on the table, glancing at the clock before back at Percy.

"Your lack of faith in me is so comforting."

"Glad that you find it so."

"How do you expect to find pail anyway? We're in the middle of nowhere Annabeth, I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't just set up camp near here. I didn't see anything when my mom and I were driving here, it just looks like a strawberry hill."

"Well it's better than just sitting in here doing nothing but the same thing over and over again. Do you ever wonder why we're trained to fight? Why they have learning battle tactics, how to hunt, how to survive… how to _kill_?" She whispered.

"Have you ever tried looking down where all of the testing happens? For clues there? Why do we need to go out of here? It's not like we can get anywhere."

"There's a school van out in the parking lot, I know how to hotwire it," she said simply.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Percy asked.

"I've been told that I'm actually really bad at poetry. But that has nothing to do with it." Percy stared at her. She was bad at poetry?

"What type of poetry?" He interrupted her.

"What?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What type of poetry? Like couplets, haikus? Limericks because I quite like those. Ballads are tough but I can deal with them."

"Do I even want to know how you know about those different forms of poetry? You don't really strike me as the poet sort Seaweed Brain. And it's not that I don't like poetry, I love it. Sylvia Plath is my favorite author next to Homer and Virgil. All three of them are poets. I'm just not that… creative I suppose? But being able to write poetry isn't going to help me become an architect now is it?"

"You want to become an architect?"

"If I ever get out of this god forsaken place which is looking pretty slim if you don't hush up and hear my plan."

"What happens when you get too old? When you graduate? Like what's going to happen to Luke if he's not considered 'normal?'" Annabeth turned red at the mention of Luke but sighed.

"I don't know, no one really does. After graduation they all have to take a test… and then we don't see them again, if they're normal or not."

"That's depressing."

"Yes, that's the whole point I've been trying to make Percy. This whole place is depressing now are you going to shut up and listen to me. I need you to tell Piper and those goofballs what they're supposed to do at lunch."

"Fine, go ahead and speak. My lips are sealed." He mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key which made Annabeth roll her eyes.

"You can drive right?" She asked. Percy nodded. "Good then you'll have to drive us into town. It gets darker earlier here because it's the winter so we should be able to sneak out right at lights out. You need to tell them to dress dark and bring a pack with a change of normal clothes. Tell Piper to bring her knife and Leo to bring his tool belt, we might need it. I'll bring a lighter in case we need an… explosion." She grimaced at the thought of this, before pulling out the piece of paper she had found and laying it on the table. "According to this…"

Annabeth continued rambling on and Percy started dozing off until he saw out of the corner of his eye someone coming towards them: Will Solace. He froze. "Annabeth," he whispered quickly but she didn't look up. "Annabeth shut up, shut up," he said but she only glared at him. Will had almost reached them when he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Hastily he ripped the piece of paper from Annabeth, shoved it in is pant pocket and then leaned over and kissed Annabeth. Right on the lips. When Will arrived and saw the two of them he turned bright red and turned away, stuttering his apologies.

The kiss was something Percy hadn't ever experienced before. Sure he had kissed girls before but there was something about Annabeth's kiss that felt familiar, like coming home after being gone for a long time. He wasn't sure that he ever wanted to stop.

They quickly broke apart and Annabeth was panting, her face bright red. She glared at Percy. "What the heck was that for?" She nearly screeched.

"Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable and my mom always said that kissing is the best way to make someone shut up. I don't get why you're so worried about me giving away what we're doing, you nearly did it yourself."

He didn't see it coming. One second he was giving her a sheepish grin and the next his face was stinging from the slap.

"Don't you ever, ever kiss me again!" She said quickly. "Even if you need to shut me up. Don't do it again." And with that she stormed out of the library, leaving all of her books behind. Percy couldn't help but grin.

She might not have liked it and he would never admit it to her face, but he secretly enjoyed kissing Annabeth Chase.

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

The sweater was itchy.

Very itchy.

Percy had gone digging through his measly selection of clothes to try and find something black to wear. In his mind he had pictured looking like a spy or someone out of those action movies. In reality he looked like a conglomeration of different shades of black. Dark blackish pants, grey shoes, and a really dark blue sweater that he didn't even know he owned. The only thing that was truly black was his hair and that didn't really count did it?

Grabbing a knapsack that he was lucky to have brought (the pamphlet for Goode had said something about fieldtrips but so far there was no sign of those unless this counted as one) Percy stealthily headed out of his room.

As he headed downstairs he flinched when he heard the stairs let out a loud, groaning creak. He froze, waiting for someone to come barreling down the stairs with a gun trained at him but no one came. He continued on, his breathing heavier than usual, his heart racing. In his pocket was a pocketknife that he had swiped out of the training room, just in case. Plus it had a flashlight and a pair of scissors as well as a bottle opener so he figured they were all set.

The problem was the door.

It was locked from the outside and his nifty pocketknife had nothing to help him open it. He jimmied the lock for a moment before looking around, trying to figure out how to get out. There was a back door which was also locked as were all of the windows on the lower floor. Hurrying back to his room, Percy threw open his own window and looked outside. "Shit," he muttered to himself. It was a long way down.

Tossing his bag out first, it landed on the ground with a resounding thud. He really needed to work on the whole _quiet_ aspect of escaping. If he had been a prisoner in jail he wouldn't have made it ten feet out of his cell.

His bag was out but there was still the problem of how he was going to get out of the room and preferably alive. An idea flashed in his mind about something some guy had done in a movie. Stripping his bed, he tied the sheets together and then pushed his bed over towards the wall near the window, tying the end of the long rope like mess of sheets to the headboard and then flinging it out the window. He prayed that he made it loose enough to yank down but tight enough so that he could climb out and not have it snap off.

Gripping the sheets in his hands, Percy felt a sudden adrenaline rush course through his body as he slid out of the window and slowly maneuvered his way down the house, his feet thumping against the wall. His heart stopped as he nearly stepped on a window. A window which led to a bedroom.

Holding his breath Percy looked below him and then he jumped.

"Crap, crap, crap! Ow, ow, ow!" He muttered to himself as he gripped his throbbing ankle after tumbling in the grass. He forced himself to stand up and then limped around, trying to shake the feeling away in his ankle. "Ah shit!" He said again, biting back a scream of pain. Yanking off his shoe he found a large, swollen lump on the side of his left foot.

"Just great," he groaned, hopping over to his escape route and tugging at it. Thankfully the sheets came tumbling out after a few sharp tugs. He flung his pack onto his back and then hobbled off towards the rock climbing wall.

"Stupid, stupid," he muttered to himself as he reached there, the darkness covering him and almost stifling him.

"You know if you keep talking to yourself, someone is going to think that you're crazy." Percy nearly jumped out of skin at the dreamy voice which whispered into his ear. Whirling around his eyes barely made out the form of Hazel Levesque.

"What are you doing out here?" He hissed at her.

"I think that nighttime is the most beautiful time to go for a walk don't you? As long as you're not afraid of the dark of course. Who knows what sort of monsters like to hide themselves here. I once ran into a banshee and that was a lovely experience. A lovely ghost except for the fact that she was incredibly loud. I don't particularly like loud ghosts do you?"

"Hazel listen, you need to go back to your room and go to sleep," Percy said gently. Hazel just shook her head and grinned at him.

"I know where you're going and I think you're brave."

"Thank you…" Percy said hesitantly. Hazel beamed at him.

"You should know that no one ever leaves here, not even the people they call sane. They're all still locked up. Just like you… just like me." Her voice faded away and her eyes clouded over for a little before shrugging. "Well have fun Perseus Jackson and please don't try to get killed. I would be devastated if so." And then she skipped away from him, leaving him dumbstruck once again.

"What's with the sheets man?" Leo asked, leaning against the wall and staring at him.

"I was escaping wasn't I?" Percy said a little gruffly.

"So you used sheets?" Leo asked. "Went for the old fashioned method I see."

"Oh and if you're so high and mighty why don't you tell me how you managed to get out of your room without killing yourself?"

"I picked the lock," he shrugged.

"Oh and that's not old fashioned at all," Percy said sarcastically.

"Touché. Now come on, everyone's waiting for us up there. I still can't believe I never found this stupid ladder. Makes me feel like an idiot."

Up top Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Percy's sheets but she didn't say anything. "I thought I told you to wear black," she said instead. Percy glared at her.

"Hey this was the best I could do on such short notice. Do you expect me to have a whole closet of black or something?"

"Yes, yes I do." There was no humor whatsoever in her voice and Percy had to think a moment if she was joking or not.

"Oh just shut up. Anyone have an empty backpack to put my sheets in?" He asked.

"I'm full," Grover said, shaking his backpack for emphasis, there was a loud sound of rattling cans in it.

"Stop that Grover," Annabeth hissed. "Do you want us all to get caught? I'm surrounded by idiots," she moaned. "Just leave the sheets here. You can come back for them later Seaweed Brain."

"Okay so now that we're here, how are you proposing we get over to the other side?" Jason asked and Percy looked at him, having not noticed him before. He was dressed in all black, kneeling very closely to Piper.

"We jump," Annabeth shrugged. "We've jumped this distance before in combat training."

"Well then how do we get down once we jump? I'm sorry but I don't exactly like the idea of falling to my death."

Annabeth groaned. "I forgot about that."

It was Percy's turn to grin. He held up the bundle in his arms. "Sheets anyone?"

In the end they had to add on Piper and Leo's sweatshirts to make it long enough as well as Jason's pair of sweatpants he was wearing over a pair of basketball shorts. Annabeth leapt first, landing deftly on the wall. It was a thick enough wall that she could kneel on the other side without a problem. Leo followed and pulled out a mallet from his tool belt and a large nail that made Percy cringe at the sight of. All he could think about was having that massive sucker stuck in his foot.

Quickly and deftly which surprised Percy, Annabeth and Leo worked together to nail it into the cement wall. Percy then tossed them the sheets and they looped it around the nail. Annabeth tossed the sheets over the edge and then paused for a moment, looking down.

"What are you waiting for?" Nico hissed. He had suddenly appeared next to Percy, making him nearly scream.

Percy heard Annabeth heave a deep breath before disappearing over the edge. A few moments later Leo whispered triumphantly. "She's out! Ladies and gentlemen we have organized the first escape from the dreaded Goode Academy!" He did a little jig.

"Alright your turn beauty queen," he called to Piper who catapulted over to the other side and then slid down the sheets until she too was on the ground. Jason, Grover, and Nico followed. Percy took one last look back before leaping over.

Only he misjudged the distance and fell short. Quickly he grabbed onto the ledge of the wall, hoisting himself up so that his armpits rested on the wall. He took a few quick breaths. "Leo, a little help here," he said through gritted teeth.

"Oh dude, you need to work on that, especially if we're going to do this again. We wouldn't want a Percy pancake on the ground now would we?"

"Will you just give me a hand please," he asked. Leo grinned and hoisted him up before climbing down the sheet rope. Percy rubbed his knee, wincing at the pain. Damn he was getting pretty beat up. His ankle was throbbing and begging him to stop but he couldn't stop now, not when he was so close to actually getting outside.

Gripping the sheets for the second time that night, Percy slid down them. He was just about to tug them off when Annabeth stopped him, gripping his shoulder. "Don't. We need them to get back in."

"Alright you fools," Leo said manically, rubbing his palms together, "Let's go hijack a car!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Percy realized very quickly that no matter what they said, driving a car was not like riding a bike. It was slightly difficult to drive a car after not having done so in months.

Maybe it was because he had never paid much attention when he was learning (it had been a miracle that he had even been able to learn as most people just took the subway or a cab in New York City but Paul had insisted on teaching him) but when he sat in the driver's seat he had to think for a moment about which was the break and which was the gas pedal.

"Gas is on the right," Annabeth said as she buckled her seatbelt. Percy wished that someone like Grover or Leo was sitting in the front seat with him. Then if he was going to crash the car by accident they would scream with him instead of what Annabeth would do which would be to scream _at_ him.

"I know," he said through gritted teeth.

"Up is for a right turn signal, down is for left."

"I know."

"Don't forget your seatbelt."

"Oh my gods Chase will you just shut up I know what I'm doing."

"Are you sure because your hands certainly don't look like they're at ten and two," Annabeth said, tapping the steering wheel. Percy glared at her.

"Leave the poor guy alone, he's probably in shock at my mad skills at hijacking a car," Leo said from his backseat, twirling his wire clippers in his hand. How on earth he had even gotten those Percy would never know.

"I'm not in shock and I know what I'm doing so just be quiet!" Percy growled, slamming his hands down on the steering wheel.

"Whoa deep, deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth come on say it with me bro, in through your nose out through your…"

"Leo Valdez if you don't shut up I swear that Percy won't be the one to kill you I will," Piper groaned, glaring at him.

"Can we just go already, I'm really not in the mood for Chiron or Mr. D to catch us," Nico said from where he was squashed between Grover and Jason, one of whom was chewing nervously on a can and the other who looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Yeah I… I'm not ready to die," Grover stuttered.

"Oh just hush up and eat your can. No one is going to die as long as Seaweed Brain actually starts driving."

At that comment Percy pressed down hard on the gas and the van lurched forward, throwing everyone forward and into the seat in front of them. "Uhg my head," Leo moaned. "I think you killed a few very important brain cells."

"You have brain cells?" Jason asked as he sat up, rubbing his own head.

"Uncalled for Sparky, totally uncalled for," Leo glared.

"If you two are going to keep fighting like that then can we please stick you the roof? At least that way we won't have to hear all of your yammering," Nico groaned. He didn't look too well, his normally white as death face was turning a sickly shade of green.

"Please," Grover begged. "They're making me more nervous than I usually am in enclosed spaces. You can blame them if we have to pull over so that I can do nature's duty. If only we had brought those sheets along."

"No one is tying anyone to the roof!" Annabeth said, whirling around so that she could face the unhappy group of campers. "Jason and Leo stop your bickering. Nico if you're going to puke use your backpack and Grover, nature's duty can wait."

"Uh Annabeth you trying holding it in when you have to go. When you've got to go, you've got to go," Grover pointed out. "It's like the circle of life."

"There is no way that I am going to say that 'nature's duty' is comparable to the circle of life which is the symbiotic relationships between the plants and animals of the earth."

"I thought it was a song," Jason said, slightly confused as he ran his hand through his hair. "You know the one with the weird words in the beginning and all of the talking animals? Or was it in the movie with the talking candlestick and feather duster?"

"It was the animals Sparky," Piper grumbled.

"Yeah everyone who's anyone knows that. Just like my friend beauty queen over here. She's smart. You on the other hand? Eh not so much. And not as good looking as her. Of course you're _nowhere_ near as good looking as me," Leo said smugly.

"Oh for the love of the gods will you all just shut up!" Annabeth screeched. Percy smirked which she saw out of the corner of her eye. She turned on him. "What are you laughing at? Do you think this is funny?"

"Hey don't harm the driver," Percy said taking his hands off the wheel in a surrendering fashion. The van started to veer to the right and Annabeth yelped. "Two hands on the wheel Seaweed Brain! Two hands on the wheel!" Percy grinned at her.

"I know, I know Wise Girl. Seriously this car ride must be what it's like when you're not an only child and your family decides to take a trip to Disney Land… by car." Annabeth glared at him but said nothing. The car became silent other than the sound of Grover munching on a tin can.

"Pull over here," Annabeth instructed about half an hour later, pointing to an old gas station which also doubled as one of those old fashioned junk stores which was crammed to the brim with little knickknacks of different sculptures. A worn out neon sign was dangling haphazardly from its bolts. Tire tracks skidded in from the turn in, decorating the pavement as if it had once been a busy establishment but was no longer. A ghost town of its former glory. "Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," Grover read, craning his head to get a better look out of the window. The whole place was deserted other than an old truck with a man in a red button down shirt and oversized hat filling up at a pump.

"Why would we pull over here?" Percy asked nevertheless acquiescing to Annabeth's demand.

"Because," she said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door.

"Are you sure you want to go in there?" Piper said uneasily. The rest of the group mentally agreed with Piper; road side convenience stores tended to be a little bit dicey. You never knew just what was going to be inside of one. Once Percy and Sally stopped by one on the way to the beach for than annual trip. Instead of the normal rows of plastic baggies of chips and a cooler of soda, the convenience store was filled with soy free, nut free, MSG free, and—worst of all—sugar free food. The twinkie that Percy had bought was not worth the five dollars it had cost.

"If I don't come back out within ten minutes then send a search party. Piper you're in charge," she said matter-of-factly.

"But I'm the driver! Why can't I be in charge?" Annabeth rolled her eyes and grabbed her dufflebag from the floor of the passenger seat. "Percy I wouldn't trust you with my turtle. It would probably outrun you. If I'm not back in ten send in a search party. Just make sure Leo doesn't blow anything up; there's no need to make us fugitives as well as crazy." She slammed the door.

The car was silent. He watched as she walked towards the dimly lit entrance to the store, her blond curls bouncing behind her. There was a terrible feeling in the gut of his stomach and he had the sudden urge to jump out of the van and follow her.

Leo let out a long whistle. "Damn boy. Why don't you two just do it already? The sexual tension in here is killing me. I feel like we all pretty much agree that it's slowly suffocating us. So just hurry up so that we can all finally breathe." He turned to the rest of the teens in the car whose faces were bright red. "Am I right or am I right?"

Percy's jaw dropped and he could feel his face turning an unnatural shade of red. Piper wacked Leo on the head. "Have you ever heard of these things called social cues? Or possibly this equally brilliant idea called shutting up?"  
"What? It's not like I'm the only one who thinks it. There's a bet going around on when they'll finally hook up. Will Solace told Nico that he saw the two of them getting it on in the back of the library," Leo grinned, nudging Nico in the side. "Didn't he Ghost Boy?"

Nico's face turned almost as bright red as Percy's and he muttered something. "I didn't know you liked to hang out with Will," Grover said. Nico looked out the window and didn't answer. Percy prayed that the group might become distracted by this separate development instead of his relationship with Annabeth but Jason suddenly jumped on board.

"You do have to admit that you two do seem pretty familiar with each other," Jason pointed out. "Sure you haven't met before."

"Not you too! I don't even know you!" Percy groaned, banging his head against the steering wheel. "As far as I'm concerned Annabeth and I are nothing but friends and even that could be considered a stretch! Hell she judo flipped me if you all don't remember! She sent me to the freaking infirmary so many times that they are no longer countable on just my fingers! I have to use my toes! Now even egotistical jerks are betting on my relationship."

"So you admit you have a relationship with Annabeth?" Grover piped up. He was finished with his can and was fiddling with his rasta cap.

"Seriously?" Percy glared at Grover in the mirror.

"We're just saying that the two of you have chemistry together," Leo said casually, examining his cuticles as if they were the most fascinating specimen on the planet.

"We do not have Chemistry together. Annabeth's in Physics and oh… oh…"

"Yeah on," Leo said rolling his eyes. "Is he really that sheltered?" He asked Jason who shrugged.

"I'm not sheltered." Percy was beginning to feel as if the whole entire world was picking on him; he was tempted to scream but that might cause any wild beast, mountain men and convenience store clerks included, coming running.

"Whatever you say man, whatever you say," Leo smirked. Percy noted with a glower that his curly hair and mischievous eyes made him look like sprite… or the devil. The devil might be a good comparison.

The six of them sat in silence once again. Or almost silence. Grover had pulled out what he explained were reed pipes his "granddaddy goat"—whatever that meant—had carved for him. He was attempting to play Mozart but it ended up sounding like Lady Gaga. And apparently no one in the car except for Leo liked Lady Gaga. Or at least the song choice. Leo obviously lived for the applause.

"It's been ten minutes," Piper said, looking at the electric clock which Percy had also been staring at avidly, as if it would change if he just stared at it a little bit harder.

"I'm going in, it shouldn't take you this long to find a bag of chips and ask for directions or do whatever Annabeth has to do," he said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Knowing her she's probably asking about the craftsmanship behind the different statues and what sort of medium they used," Jason joked. No one laughed.

"I'll be back. Piper you're in charge," he said, hoping out.

"I already was in charge!" She called as he slammed the door.

Burying his hands into his jeans' pockets to fight against the freezing cold, Percy lowered his head and hurried towards the door, his smoky breath flying up towards the moon. The trees surrounding the building were ominous and loomed over him, casting terrible shadows across the pavement. He found himself jumping over the shadows in order to stay in the light. Bad things happened at night in the dark.

The man's truck was still waiting outside, the gas pump still attached to the truck. Percy's eyes furrowed; his feet caused the old wooden slates of the porch to creek under his weight as if they might snap at any moment and he would fall down a dark tunnel to Hades. He gingerly pushed open the door with one hand, his other hand gripping his pocket knife. His heart wasn't calm like he would like it to be. Instead it pattered too fast, as if it was attempting to burst free from his chest. His hair stood on edge.

An old bell dinged to signal his arrival.

The sound echoed throughout the store.

No one told him hello.

He took two steps forward. The linoleum floor looked freshly clean other than the slight stain of red. A bin of fresh tomatoes was propped up against a statue of a gardener, shovel in hand and a wide grin on her face. Percy stared at the tomatoes for a moment longer before continuing his search for Annabeth.

The store was massive, much bigger inside than it looked from the outside. There were shelves full of a random assortment of food and useful supplies. Statues littered the store, peeking out from shelves, hanging from the ceiling. Percy found the atmosphere to be strange and disturbing. The smiles on all of the faces were crudely carved compared to the beautiful detail of the rest of the statues.

And the eyes were missing.

There were no pupils, no eyeballs, only empty sockets of nothingness. And yet they stared at your soul and Percy tried to avoid looking at them. "Annabeth?" He called into the empty air. An employee had yet to come and ask him if he needed something.

Something was very wrong.

A hand wrapped around his wrist and yanked him down an aisle. He collided with one of the shelves and then with the floor, his elbows aching from the impact. "Shh! Do you want to get us killed?" Percy jerked upwards to see Annabeth, her eyes wide with terror that she was trying to hide but was pulsating through the air.

"Where have you been?" Percy hissed. "I've been looking all over for you."

"We have to get out of here," Annabeth said, looking around frantically. It was then that Percy noticed that she was holding a knife in her hand, her hair falling out of its ponytail. Red paint was splattered on her sheet white face.

"What's going on?" He asked as Annabeth crept forward, peering around the corner of the shelf. Her knuckles were in a death grip around the hilt of her knife.

"We shouldn't have stopped here. How could I have been so stupid?" She muttered, more to herself than to Percy. Her muscles were tense like a wild animal about ready to pounce, her breathing heavy as if she had just run for her life.

"What do you mean? Why shouldn't we have stopped here? Will you please tell me what the heck is going on here?" Percy asked, grabbing her shoulder and whirling her around. Annabeth studied her face and then looked behind her shoulder.

"The tire tracks all come in but none go out," she whispered harshly, pushing her hair out of her face.

"And that means…" Percy began, waiting for her to finish.

"That no one leaves. This place is a tombstone. It's a grave yard. She kills anyone that comes. Especially us."

Percy felt his heart finally slow down, only it slowed down to near nothing. He blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

He made sure that Annabeth was still in front of him, afraid that she was nothing but an apparition who would disappear into the air along with all of his courage.

"What do you mean by that?"

Annabeth opened her mouth to answer when she tensed suddenly. Her crazy grey eyes communicated Percy to stay silent and not to move. A faint clicking sound could be heard bouncing off the walls. Percy's hands clenched into fists, Annabeth held her breath.

The clicking sound grew louder.

Coming closer.

Closer.

Until it stopped all together.

A shuffling sound echoed through the room, like something being dragged away and then a dripping sound. Percy's mind was racing at a million miles per minute. Noise could get to you in ways that sight never could. He couldn't see exactly what was going on but he could hear it. And the hearing of it made his hair stand on edge, made him bite down on his lip so tight that it started to bleed. To know but at the same time not know. A paradox which was terrifying.

"I know you're in here."

The voice was unlike anything Percy had ever heard before. It was too smooth, too soft, too perfect. It had an accent, something middle eastern but he couldn't quite place where, he had never been good at geography.

"I can smell you. Your putrid stench fills the room with great power." Percy wrinkled his eyebrows and raised his arm a little. He took a hesitant little sniff. Nope, no smell there. Maybe it was Annabeth.

Annabeth glared at him, her back pressed against the shelf wall. Her body didn't move, her muscles were tense. Only wisps of her hair moved in the wind created by the cycling fans up above. Percy found himself having a sudden urge to kiss her right there.

But maybe it wasn't the time for that.

"Why don't you come out?" The voice asked, honey dripping from her lips. Percy was quite certain it was a woman. The voice was too beautiful not to be. "Come out and play my little girl. It's been a while since I've had anyone as smart as you. I do love a good chase." There was a deep breath and a sigh. "The hunt is always the best part."

The clicking sound continued and Percy saw a head appear from among the shelves. Or more a turban. The neck holding the turban was long and graceful like a swan, the turban as black as midnight. Percy held his breath, if she turned her head just a little to the left, she would be able to see them.

They were sitting ducks.

Annabeth grabbed his shoulder and pointed towards the end of the aisle. Nodding, Percy army crawled towards the end, his thick pants creating a barrier between him and the sound which he would have created. Annabeth followed behind him, moving quickly and silently towards the end. Percy slipped under a table covered in candles and motioned for Annabeth to follow. They sat side by side underneath, their knees touching; he was certain that he could hear her pounding heart from where he sat. He wondered if she could feel his.

"No?" The woman asked. "You don't feel like playing?" A light chuckle filled the air, like a madman just before his first kill. "Then I suppose I will have to wait for you to be ready. Don't worry. I am very patient."

Terror etched through Percy's body as he heard the scraping of a key inside the lock of the front door. "It's time to see if you're really as smart as they say you are," the woman laughed under her breath. "It would be a pleasure to be the one to destroy someone as bright as you Annabeth Chase. A great pleasure."

The duo stayed hidden until the clicking sound had faded all together. "She's gone downstairs," Annabeth whispered to Percy. "Back to her hellhole."

"Who is she?" He asked, crawling out from underneath the table. "What is this place? How on earth did she even know you?"

"I don't know but I intend to find out. She has this massive room downstairs, filled with dead bodies. And pictures. Gods Percy the pictures!" Annabeth's eyes became wild and frantic.

"So she's a murderous photographer? She likes to kill people that didn't smile just right for her pictures?" Percy asked, confused as to what she was getting at.

"No. Percy they're pictures of _us_," she said quickly.

"Us? Why would she want pictures of us? I mean myself I can understand but you? You're nothing too special and she doesn't seem to like you very much."

"Do you always make stupid jokes when your life is currently on the line?" Annabeth hissed.

"So does that mean that my jokes are good all of the other times?"

"Will you just shut up? Come on let's get to the door and get out of here."

"Didn't she just lock it? Because I'm pretty sure that I heard a key. Did you hear a lock? Because I'm pretty sure that I heard a lock."

"If you want you can sit here and rot or even worse be killed by a psychopath or you can try the door with me. It's your choice. I have no desire to be sitting here underneath a table until I die."

If it had been in any other situation, Percy would have found it funny to watch Annabeth Chase, the smartest girl at Goode probably in the whole world, crawl across the linoleum floor of a convenience store.

"You never told me who the pictures were of," he said as he crawled after her. If they made it out of this alive his knees were most likely going to be busted. He'd probably have to stop by and see Clara again at the infirmary.

"They're of Goode students. All of them. At first I didn't recognize any of them because the first ones I saw were from decades ago but then I saw a picture of Luke and then there was one of me. I had no idea what they were until— oh my gods."

Annabeth stopped crawling.

"What? What is it?" Percy asked, peering over her shoulder.

He wished that he hadn't.

Lying on the floor next to the bin of tomatoes was a body.

Or at least what was left of a body. The legs were broken and the face was bloodied beyond recognition. Annabeth crept beside it and picked up the left hand. "He tried to crawl away, gods I'm going to be sick. She must have broken his legs and he tried to—" Her voice trailed off and she dropped the hand, turning away from it. Blood caked her own hand.

"How can you tell?" Percy asked hoarsely.

"His nails are broken and caked with dust."

"Oh."

"We have to get out of here and now." She stood up quickly, giving up any effort of the continuous crawling, and hurried towards the door. It didn't budge as she tried to open in. "Curse it all," she muttered, trying again. When she had tried enough times to confirm to herself that the door wasn't going to open she whirled around, her wild grey eyes searching for something.

"There," she said more to herself than to Percy.

It was the light-switch. She began flickering it on and off. Percy didn't know how it was helping the ambiance of the room. If anything it was making him want to crawl into the bin of tomatoes and fall asleep for the rest of his life. Which from the looks of it was going to be far too short. "What are you doing?" He asked from where he hid.

"Morse code and praying that those idiots in the van realize that we're in trouble."

Casting a quick glance at the body on the floor one more time, Percy recognized the flannel shirt. "Annabeth," he said, his voice no more than a whisper in the wind. His shaking hand pointed at the body. "Annabeth it's the guy that was filling up on gas. She's murdered him."

"Of course she has Seaweed Brain. Though I don't know whether to be thankful or not. It was due to him that I was able to get out of there. He distracted her long enough for me to stab her and run."

"Wait you stabbed her?"

"No I threw a chocolate dingdong at her. This isn't the time to be debating the ethics of killing a person Seaweed Brain. Yes I stabbed her."

"It's not the ethics of it, it's the fact that I've seen you stab those practice dummies. Why isn't she dead?"

Annabeth shook her head, her ponytail swishing from one side to the other. "I have no idea and I'm not particularly in the mood to find out why."

A guilty feeling washed over Percy in that moment. Annabeth had been stabbing a murderer and was trying to figure out how to get them home and there he was thinking about hiding in a bin of tomatoes. Now was not the time to be a coward.

If he was going to die, damn it he was going to die in a ball of flames.

Leo Valdez style.

"Where is this room filled with pictures?" Percy asked. "I want to see it."

She hesitated, looking out the window but all view of the van was blocked by the swinging wooden sign. "I don't know Percy."

"How did you get there. I'm pretty sure you weren't planning on snooping around. You were just going to get directions to P.A.I.L weren't you? Maybe change your clothes? And yet you managed to stumble across a creepy shrine to the insane kids that live a few miles away from here."

"I was looking for the bathroom," Annabeth murmured. "I didn't mean to find it."

"Show it to me. Now. You said that she went back downstairs. That means this room must be upstairs right? Show it to me Annabeth."

"I think that we should wait and hope that Piper comes," she was still gripping her knife nervously. Percy wished that he had a sword right then. Maybe a pen which could change into a sword that way it wouldn't be very conspicuous. There were swords like that right?

"Come on Annabeth. I don't want to die by just sitting here. Why not try and figure out what's going on? Where's your sense of adventure? This was your plan in the first place. Where's the girl that could take down a man three times her size without batting an eyelash?"

"I guess I was wrong, I guess I'm not brave enough, I liked to think that I am but all that training—Percy I grew up fighting other kids not murderous psychopaths." Her breathing became heavy and her eyes were glassy, fixed on an invisible ghost that rested in the darkness in front of her. "I don't want to die," she heaved.

"I don't want to die.

I'm scared."

The image before Percy seemed so familiar. It caused an aching pain in his chest, staring at her. "Hey, hey listen to me, listen to me, _listen to me_." Percy walked up to her, taking her hands in his. "It's alright, you're going to be alright." He reached up and tucked a curl behind her ear. "We're going to get out of here. I promise. Where did that brave girl who faced the guillotine in the French Revolution disappear to?" He stared into her grey eyes, storms which would never stop swirling.

Annabeth gave him a strange look. "What did you say?"

"I can't remember."

"You said something about the French Revolution," she accused.

"I did?" His cheeks turned red. Had he really just mentioned one of his dreams to her? Gods he was losing his mind. "It's nothing. I didn't mean it. I… just show me the room. Please?"

Annabeth studied his face before slowly nodding. "Okay. Okay. You're right. We might as well try to do something that will benefit the world even if we're going to die." Her voice sounded hollow and resigned. "Follow me."

In the corner of his mind, Percy had the niggling feeling that they were being watched which was probably true. He wondered why the strange woman in the turban didn't jump out already and kill them. A sick part of him wondered how she killed her victims. He remembered a story about a woman baking her victims into meat pies. He had a disturbing image in his mind of being baked into a twinkie but quickly shook it out. He had to focus if he was going to make sure that he and Annabeth escaped.

The room was small, similar to an office that one could find in any sort of business. There was a desk filled with stacks of paper and a cup with a brown liquid in it and a straw. Percy picked it up, sniffed, and then instantly put it down. It smelled repulsive. Annabeth closed the door behind them, locking it for protection.

The walls were covered with pictures. The ceiling was one large map.

Pictures and push pins right through the middle of the photographed person's head. Sure enough the first pictures Percy saw, right above the desk, were old, of kids with big hairdos and turtle neck sweaters. They looked like the kids from his math book. But on the outside walls, the pictures became more recent and he spotted a few kids from school only they looked younger.

His picture was pinned next to Annabeth's which had a big black X running through it. Not for the first time that day, Percy's blood went cold. "Terrifying isn't it?" She whispered, staring at her own picture, the only one with an X. Percy nodded mutely, continuing to stare at it. Annabeth turned aside and began riffling through the papers on the desk.

There was a large safe next to the desk which Percy suspected either held money or guns, random fold out maps that his mom used to use when they were first driving to their cabin were lying scattered around the floor, red circles all over them.

"I don't get why she has so many order forms if no one actually buys anything," Annabeth huffed. And then her hands froze above a piece of paper. "Percy look at this," she said quickly, shoving it into his hands. Percy took it and stared.

**Subject 1466 Perseus Jackson has been brought to Goode. Will try to escape with Subject 1467 Annabeth Chase on November 16 and potentially Subjects 1487 1503 and 1562, more brain scans must be done to see. Dangerous. If found outside of Goode Institute bring to P.A.I.L. Will stop by M's. Reinforcements may be necessary.**

A picture of Percy was attached to it. The slip of paper was dated almost three months ago. Percy looked at Annabeth, his eyes wide open.

Today was November 16.

"They knew we were going to get out even before we did," he whispered. Annabeth nodded.

"This is bigger than we thought."

The lights in the office flickered and then blinked out. Percy heard Annabeth suck in a deep breath. He stumbled in her direction, feeling for her hand.

"Well then my little psychopaths, I've waited long enough. Shall we play a game?" The melodic voice boomed over the speaker. "It's called the Most Dangerous Game. Surely you've heard of it Miss Chase? The reward? Yours and your friends' lives. Should you fail?" A chuckle boomed throughout the room.

"Your death. The doors are unlocked. You have half an hour to run."

Percy looked madly in the direction of Annabeth. "What is she talking about?"

"The Most Dangerous Game— it's a short story," Annabeth said hurriedly. "Gods we need to go. Now." She grabbed Percy's wrist and flung open the door. She looked around frantically and then made for the exit.

"Why? What's going on?" Percy asked, following her.

"There are two kinds of people in this world. The hunters and the hunted. We're the _hunted."_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

It was stifling, closing in on him. Closer, closer, suffocating.

Closer.

It was black outside, black as the dark, dark as the black. He could hear his heart pounding.

Pounding.

A million drums beating in unison to create the same thunderous tidal wave symphony. And at the same time, quiet. Quiet as a silent death, barely fluttering, hardly beating.

His heart.

Oh gods his heart.

The van was dark. She flung the side door open with a resounding crash as if somehow she had gained the strength of a thousand men. Empty. Empty and black.

Black. Black. Why did everything have to be so black? It made his skin crawl. He scratched his arm, trying to scrape off the black.

"They're gone," he said. The words hung limp in the air. She nodded.

A strange red stain on one of the seats made his stomach twist in little knots and then untwist just as fast. His head spun a little. "Damn it they took the keys." She was rooting through the left behind bags. "Let's go," she said, pushing something into the palm of his hands. It was cold.

He numbly looked down. It was a long, wicked sharp blade more dangerous than his current weapon. "Don't hurt yourself," she tried to joke. When he made no motion of understanding, she slapped him. Hard.

It hurt.

He blinked.

"What was that for?" He glared, rubbing his cheek.

"You need to focus Percy. Now's not the time to shut down. Now's the time to run." She grabbed his hand. It was warm and slightly sweaty. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was vaguely aware of the fact that he was holding hands with a girl.

And that he sort of, kinda liked it.

Only a little.

But there wasn't really time to think about sweaty palms.

He felt deliriously happy.

He knew that he shouldn't.

"Let's go," she repeated.

They ran.

Their shoes slapped against the pavement. "Where are we going?" He asked, his voice was scratchy. He had never run so fast in his life. Not even back at Camp Half Blood when Coach Hedge had threatened them with bathroom duties. His body felt numb, his arms shaking and yet he still ran. Faster, faster. One foot in front of the other. Pounding across the ground.

The lights which surrounded the old convenient store were bright.

They outshone the stars.

Annabeth pulled him towards the woods, towards the large trees which loomed over them. As soon as they entered all the lights seemed to disappear and they were surrounded by darkness once again. They jumped over rocks, ran straight into branches and yet they kept going. They couldn't see anywhere and yet they knew that someone, something was at their heels.

The feeling you get when you are the prey results in a surge of something. Something which forces you to run. When you are the hunted a fierce will to live pervades through you, it's run or die in every aspect of the phrase.

Perhaps if we lived as if we were the prey, prey to Death, every day, the world would be different.

The forest seemed all the same, trees, rocks, darkness, rocks, trees. A few beady eyes peered out from the dark holes they hid in. One wrong step and Percy felt as if they would break the ground and fall through the earth straight to Tarturus. The only problem was there could be no way of knowing where that one wrong step lay.

Annabeth glanced down at her watch which lit up in the darkness. How ironic that the one thing they were able to see was the one thing that Percy didn't want to know. The time. Even in darkness you were still controlled by it. She cursed.

As if on cue, a howl arose.

"That's not a golden retriever," Percy murmured. "Or a Chihuahua."

"No shit Sherlock." The howl was joined by a chorus more until the whole forest echoed with the ravenous sound. They came closer, one loud cry of Death. Annabeth jerked to a stop, unslinging her backpack and rooting through it. She pulled out a massive flashlight and turned it on, aiming it in the direction of the howl. Percy brandished his knife just as the first dog came crashing through their defense of trees.

"And that's not a dog."

It wasn't. It looked as if a dog, lion, and a rhino had been torn apart and then stitched back together creating one giant monster. Percy was pretty sure that he could see the needlework. Red eyes stared at the duo. Bright red.

Red.

Why did it always have to be red?

As if he was no longer in control of his own actions, instead his adrenaline was, Percy lurched forward without hesitation, raising his blade. The creature hissed and then jumped, its sinewy haunches tightening as it leapt towards him.

Percy dropped to the ground, lifting his blade upward. The beast came crashing down on top of him, right onto his hunting knife. It made a whimpering sound followed by a hiss like air being let out of a tire and a whizzing, whirling finishing with a dramatic click.

Annabeth pushed the thing from off of Percy who groaned. He felt as if he had been crushed by a dump truck. "I've been wounded," he cried. She gave a quick glance towards the cut on his arm before kneeling at the side of the carcass and examining it with her flashlight then taking her knife and tearing at the skin of the animal. "Tis merely a flesh wound Seaweed Brain," she smirked. "Brilliant really though, to think of the laws of projectile motion. And they all said physics couldn't be used in the heat of battle ha!"

"I worry about you," Percy murmured, picking at his scratch from where the thing's claws had torn at his skin. Percy winced as blood trickled out. "Annabeth it's bleeding!" He whined.

At this, she whirled around. "Well fix it you fool! Do you want the rest of the pack tracking us from your bloody stench? Honestly if you had a nose bleed it could be the end of the world! Literally!"

"I don't think that a nose bleed could cause the end of the world Wise Girl," he grimaced then grinned a little. "Can I use your shirt?"

Annabeth turned bright red. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. If you wanted a strip tease you asked the wrong girl at the wrong moment."

"So you're saying that there's a right moment?"

"Shut up and bandage your stupid cut."

Percy cut off a strip of his sweater and wrapped it around his arm. "It was worth a try you know."

"You've been hanging around Leo too much. Now if you're done pampering yourself come and look at this." Percy knelt by her side.

"It's a machine." The under workings of the creature's body were all mechanical. The spot where Percy had pierced it was completely ruptured and little flashes of sparks danced throughout.

"Thank you for that observation Captain Obvious. Must have taken a lot of work to reach that conclusion."

"I try, I try."

"Look at the insignia here." She pointed to the four engraved letters: PAIL. "We're a whole lot closer than we thought. This is pretty complex machinery."

"Isn't it interesting that for once we didn't have to go to L.A. or Paris or New York City or even Tokyo to find the workings of an evil corporation? We only had to go so far as the strange looking Garden-Gnome Emporium. I'm pretty sure plenty of cities have places like this. Imagine just how many evil plots there are to take over the world. I mean there could be a rebellion being plotted right now in Grangeville, Idaho."

"What?" Annabeth asked sharply.

"Grangeville, Idaho. They could easily be plotting the rise of the Great Potato. They're evil I tell you. All of them. Or Orofino… I mean they're high school mascot is the maniac!"

"Do I want to know why you know about two random, obscure towns in the middle of nowhere in the state that's only known for its potatoes. And plus calling everyone in Grangeville evil is a logical fallacy and virtually impossible."

"Obviously you don't read conspiracy theories."

"No I don't. I do better things with my life than sitting around with Leo and Grover and looking up weird things on Google."

"Okay you don't dis what I do in my spare time and I won't dis what you do Miss 'I'm Going to Hog the Whole Game Room So I Can Watch the History Channel.'"

"It's interesting and we are not having this conversation. Not when—"

Another howl blanketed the air. "Not when that," Annabeth said quickly, wrapping her hand around the piece of machinery and with a sharp jerk yanked it out. Another howl erupted and Percy grabbed her hand. "That's our cue to go," he said, pulling her up and dragging her away from the carcass and into the thicket.

"Shoot I left my flashlight!" Annabeth said as they ran, earning her a mouthful of leaves. There was no time to go back for it.

Their feet pounded against the rocks, slipped through the mud. A dog crashed through the trees. Annabeth let go of Percy's hand and drew her knife, whirling around the creature with an agility unseen. She plunged her knife quickly through the beast's side. It's eyes glowed.

Like the devil.

Red.

"Quick up the tree," Annabeth instructed. She grabbed a tree branch and swung herself up, scampering higher. Even though he was unsure if the tree could support his weight, Percy grabbed a branch just as a crowd of dogs stormed in. It was so dark. Percy's feet stumbled to find a proper foothold. A mutt snarled at his feet, jumping up to snap at his pant leg. Percy kicked at its squashed up face.

They clawed at the bark, etching their own marks into it. A testimony of their ability to cut a coconut in two far better than a celebrity endorsed knife could. He flung himself up onto the towering branch. Annabeth reached down and pulled him up the rest of the way. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry I got a little bit preoccupied."

"Looked like you were dancing in the jaws of death. I hope you dressed appropriately."

"Haha very funny. It is to laugh."

"I'm amused that you found it amusing."

"Very." They sat in silence of a few moments, listening to the growling of the dogs. "Do you think this is the end?" She asked. Percy shrugged.

In a way it didn't feel like the End. The End was supposed to be dramatic, wild, untamable. The End was supposed to be like a bang, memorable.

Fearless.

It didn't feel very fearless dying in a tree.

Then again they were being attacked by mutant creatures made from spare bike parts. "Creepy lady at the store mentioned 'a dangerous game.' You looked like you understood, what does it mean?" Percy asked.

Annabeth hesitated a minute, biting her bottom lip and twirling a curl around her finger. Percy had to resist the urge to wipe away the dirt from her face or pick out the leaves from her hair. "It's a short story by Richard Connell. It's about a man who hunts other people hence the 'most dangerous game' part. He lives on this island and sends people into the jungle before hunting after them. A man comes and fools him, eventually killing him. There's been lots of adaptations of it, a black and white film which is really cool to watch."

"So we're being hunted right now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Annabeth said, motioning to the snarling hounds.

"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy and all," Percy said. "How did the man end up killing the insane guy who thought it was perfectly ethical to hunt other humans?"

"He faked his own death then snuck into the man's castle and killed him. It's a fascinating story really, it messes with the mind. What would cause another human being to be so sick as hunt others? What made the man believe that he was that much better than everyone else? So much better than he could kill them without a second thought."

"Great questions Wise Girl but I didn't ask for a worksheet handout about it," he grinned a little.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's all good."

They heard footsteps steadily approaching, heavy upon the earth. It was too dark to make out the shape but a flashlight flooded the woods, the light bouncing off the trees, filling the dark cracks. Percy found it slightly paradoxical that someone evil carried a light while he found himself forced to hide in the dark.

It was strikingly similar to reality. The dark things in life portray themselves in the light which forces the good into the shadows.

"I am so disappointed in you." It was the turban lady from the store. "I expected more from the two of you. And yet here you are, hiding in the trees." She chuckled but it sounded like the hissing of snakes. It sent shivers down Percy's spine.

"Pretty sure that she's Voldermort's sister or something," Percy said, whispering to Annabeth who couldn't help but smirk.

"'Joking even in the face of death' that needs to go on your tombstone," Annabeth whispered back.

"I find that those who are the most afraid to die don't try to show it. A false sense of modesty in my humble opinion," the lady called to them.

"Too bad no one asked you for it," Percy said, reaching for a pinecone and throwing it at her defiantly. Yep. Pinecone throwing. The last defense of the dying. It was better than throwing dingdongs.

"Such spunk for someone who smells so much like death."

"Pretty sure if anyone smells like death it's you. Death and tomatoes." Perhaps it wasn't the best of ideas to irritate the lady who basically was the person sent to kill you but something in Percy made him feel defiant and sarcastic.

More so than on a regular day.

"You amuse me son of Poseidon," the lady's lips quirked up in a reptilian smile.

"She even smiles like you know who!" Percy hissed to Annabeth who jabbed him in the side. "And who is Poseidon? It sounds like a poison."

"Do you not pay attention to any of my Greek and Latin classes?"

"And you killed two of my dogs. No one has even managed to dent one. I must give you some credit I suppose. And since I am in such a caring mood… I will give you one more chance."

"One more chance?" Annabeth called, putting her hand over Percy's mouth before he could spout off another claim that she was similar to the most evil wizard in all of fiction… other then Sauron of course. Then again there were plenty of debates if he was even a wizard…

"Focus Annabeth," she muttered to herself and Percy's raised an eyebrow.

"Yes… one more chance to make it through the night and save your friends."

"Our friends!" Annabeth said hastily, not wanting that subject to drop. "And where exactly are our friends?"

The lady's lips curled under until you could only see her pearly white teeth. "Wouldn't you like to know that. But that would just take away all of the fun of our little game."

"I don't exactly consider this a game," Annabeth spat. "I find it sick."

"It doesn't have to make two people happy for it to be a game. The loser always wishes that they never played but the winner revels in the victory for centuries."

"I never got that feeling when I was playing Monopoly," Percy mumbled underneath Annabeth's hand. "Maybe in Uno though."

"You have another half hour before I send my hounds out after you. Consider yourselves lucky that I'm granting you another opportunity. It's only because I enjoy the son of Poseidon's humor. I used to know a man like him.

He died."

She turned on her heels and whistled. It was a loud, shrieking sound which made Percy and Annabeth cover their ears. The dogs stopped snarling and turned to trot after her. They soon disappeared from sight.

"Well on that happy note," Percy said, pulling Annabeth's hand from off of her face. "What's the plan Wise Girl? I know you've got one turning about in that mind of yours."

Annabeth opened her backpack, shoving the metal object into it and latching it closed. "We die," she said tersely.

"You've got to be kidding me. You just want to give up? What about everyone else? Honestly suicide right now would be kind of selfish."

She rolled her eyes. "Not literally, figuratively," Annabeth said.

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

He couldn't decide on if he was going to sit or stand.

Standing allowed for him to pace back and forth, to try and get the nerves out of his system. But that was the problem.

Standing made him look nervous.

Uptight.

Tense.

It made him look guilty.

Sitting on the other hand made him look tired, defeated. His arm hurt like crazy and he felt vulnerable sitting. He didn't have the massive hunting knife on him. Only the tiny pocket knife. Man he really needed to get a sword.

It's at moments when your life is on the line that you realize just how much you wanted a sword.

Or a gun.

Guns were good too.

It's at moments when your life is on the line that you realize the government should never take away your right for guns.

Damn he wanted a gun.

Sword or gun, anything but a measly pocket knife.

He sat.

He leaned against the tree.

He wished that Annabeth was here.

Why had he agreed to this plan?

It was stupid. There was no way that it was going to work. But at the same time it was created by one of the most genius girls to ever lived. Heck, one of the smartest people period. Both sexes included in that label. So it was bound to work. Right?

"Great Percy, now you're just rambling to yourself." His voice sounded lonely in the middle of the woods. No one was there to hear it but him. That was a miserable thought.

He looked at the watch which Annabeth had strapped to his wrist. Any minute now. He leaned his head against the rough bark and waited.

One.

Two.

Three.

Was Annabeth okay?

Four.

Five.

Six.

Percy didn't understand why he thought about her so much. What was it that made his heart race like a giddy school boy?

Fifteen.

Sixteen.

Seventeen.

Was it the way that her grey eyes held a mystery that he wanted to solve.

Twenty two.

Twenty three.

Twenty four.

Maybe it was her smile—when she actually did so—and how it was usually directed towards him. He liked that he was on the receiving end of her smiles.

Forty five.

Forty six.

Forty seven.

Gods above why Annabeth Chase?

Sixty.

The chorus of howls arose again and Percy shivered. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

They say that before you die you see seven seconds of your life.

Only seven.

Percy was sure that he was going to die. Only he didn't see seven seconds. He saw what felt like an infinity and yet only a microsecond of a life. Images, pain, lives, they all flashed before him. It was himself and yet not. It was Annabeth and yet not.

Her hair was too short, too curly, too straight. But her eyes were always the same. Always laughing at him. Stormy clouds of something that words failed to describe.

He lived a thousand lives in that one second.

In one second he lived a thousand years.

And yet a thousand years could never be enough.

The inhuman, animalistic growl ripped through the air. Percy's eyes flashed open. A beast snarled and snapped at him. Percy pushed himself as far away from the beast as possible, thankful for the branches which he had sharpened, poking out towards the beast. It wouldn't hold it the wild hoard back for long but it might work long enough for Percy to get some sort of information out of their master.

"What have we here?" Disappointment stirred in the snake lady's voice as she came into Percy's view, a large rifle in her hands. She heaved a heavy sigh. "And here I thought that you would be different and give me a much more enjoyable chase."

"Sorry to disappoint," Percy groaned, holding his wounded arm. If he made it out of here alive, Annabeth better find a way to get him an Oscar because he had nearly failed drama class back at one of his old schools.

"At least he has a sense of manners to apologize. Isn't that right Bones," she said cheerfully to one of the dogs, patting it on the back. "And such lovely eyes."

"Glad that you think so."

The lady looked around and clucked her tongue. "Where is your little friend? The annoying brat. The daughter of Athena?"

"What does that even mean?" Percy asked, trying to distract her from thinking about Annabeth. "What does son of Poseidon mean? Is that some sort of code name?"

"In a way," the lady chortled. "In a way. You were destined for such greatness. I am sorry that you failed this task. They said that you wouldn't. They told me that today would be my last hunt. Ha. Looks as if they were wrong. For once their little maps and compasses and stars failed them. No one has ever lived after a Medusa hunt."

"Medusa?" Percy asked. "What's a Medusa?"

"Medusa is me! I am her!" The woman snarled. "Medusa is the greatest hunter to have lived. She instills fear into the hearts of men, making them quiver in their boots just as you are doing now. She turns them to stone before she kills them!"

"Stone? You turn people to stone? That could be a super power or something," Percy said. "That's pretty cool."

"Cool… yes I suppose it is… cool. But no. I do not turn people to stone! I instill fear into the hearts of men, making them—"

"Yes, yes, making them quiver in their boots, you already said that. But why? Why do you hunt people?"

Medusa blinked.

"Why?"

"Yes why? Simple question, simple answer."If Annabeth was here she would be elbowing him in the gut… again.

"Because Medusa was made this way. Made to kill. Made to instill fear in the hearts of—"

"Who made you this way?" Percy asked quickly, not wanting her to go off on another rant about her purpose in life. It was as if she was a broken record, repeating only the same phrase again and again.

"They did."

Percy wrinkled his nose. He wasn't going to get anywhere with this was he? "So why the turban? And the sunglasses? Is it some new fashion statement. You'll have to pardon me because I'm not one to exactly be so keen in the fashion department of the world."

He could not believe he was having this conversation. Whatever happened to the blood thirsty woman that wanted to kill him and Annabeth? Now she just looked confused. "I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to distract me. It's not going to work," she growled. "I will kill you while you quiver in your boots."

"You will kill me?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow and casting a quick glance at the dogs. "What about your dogs. It looks like they're going to get to me before you even get a chance to."

Medusa turned to look at her dozens of dogs and tapping her gun against the ground. "You are right. They might try and take away the amusement I have earned in killing you." She let out another high piercing whistle and the dogs disappeared into the woods.

Percy let out a silent sigh of relief. "Where did you even get those dogs?"

"They are mine, gifts for each person I have killed." His eyes widened. That meant she must have killed dozens of people. "Now are you ready to die son of Poseidon? Are you quivering in your boots? Where is your little friend?"

"She… she… she didn't see the point in going on any more. You were just going to catch us," Percy whispered. He could feel a tear trickling down his cheek. Damn he was good at this. Move over Channing Tatum, hello Percy Jackson.

"You're lying," she hissed.

Percy shook his head. "I'm not. We fought." He held up his wounded arm. "But she hurt me before I could stop her. And… and… her body's over there in the clearing." He waved his uninjured arm in the general vicinity.

Medusa sniffed the air. "Yes… yes…" she paused and then looked back at Percy. "Yes I can smell her blood. "I will be back. Don't move."

She stalked towards the area he had pointed towards, dragging her gun behind her. Percy closed his eyes. Now it was Annabeth's turn. He had done his acting well enough.

There was silence for a long while, a sniffing sound, shuffling through leaves. A gunshot. And then a loud scream, a mechanical whirl. And a boom.

Percy jerked up from his seated position and sprinted towards where he had left Annabeth.

She looked wild.

Feral even.

Animalistic.

Hunched over the body. Gun gripped in hand.

Percy's heart froze.

He was afraid to approach.

She turned around and her stormy eyes caught sight of his sea green ones. Dropping the gun, Annabeth turned and ran towards him, flinging her arms around him. "Oh my gods, oh my gods," she babbled, crying into his shirt. "I just killed someone. I mean I've killed training dummies and all, even broken a few arms but… gods I just killed someone."

"Shh, hey it's okay. You did good, you did good," Percy whispered, holding her close to him. She smelled good he noted. Even though they had been running for their lives. "Annabeth you're bleeding," he noted, touched her shoulder.

"Tis merely a flesh wound," she murmured. "She had a quick shot."

A part in Percy made him want to lock Annabeth away, make sure that she could never get hurt again. She tried so hard to be brave but he had seen the pain she went through. In some weird way, being brave was brave.

He knew that she would probably murder him if he tried to keep her away from battle. But he wanted to protect her. He wanted to hold her.

The gap between them barely existed. He could feel the heat from her body rubbing off onto his. He could feel her heart pounding in her chest. He couldn't hold it back anymore. Annabeth Chase was making him go crazier than he already was.

But heck, he'd be willing to go to a mental institution for her.

Who cared if he was crazy?

All the best people were.

Leaning down he gently captured her lips with his.

It felt as if he'd done it a thousand times. It was way better than kissing someone in a library. There was something about barely escaping from Death which made you wild, it made you crazy. It made you do unimaginable things. It made you wrap your arms around a girl and kiss her senseless.

Percy wanted to kiss Annabeth senseless.

He liked the way she felt in his arms, liked the way her hands found their way to his messy raven black hair and tied little knots that didn't hurt. His heart was going crazy.

Good crazy.

Everything about their kiss was good crazy.

Yep. Percy Jackson was positive of it.

This night had proven it.

Annabeth Chase made him go insane.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"So as far as I'm concerned… we're so never doing this again. Can we just make a pact or something like 'I solemnly swear that I'll try never to get our group kill again.' Or something along those lines," Leo quipped as soon as the annoying ropes were gone from his wrists and he could actually feel his toes again.

He had been worried that he was going to die before he ever got to actually blow up a building. That would have been tragic.

"I don't think that we necessarily have control over when we get attacked by freaky mutant women and when we don't," Piper said, rubbing her own raw, red wrists. She couldn't exactly say what had happened to them, none of them could. She just remembered waking up tied to a metal chair in what looked like a large office. The most frightening thing was that sitting straight across from her was an unconscious Jason Grace, blood trickling down from his forehead.

He was still unconscious when Annabeth and Percy flung open the door and stormed in, knives at the ready. They looked a mess. Percy was dripping blood and Annabeth looked unstable. They didn't say a word as they went to work quickly untying the five teens who had been stuck in sitting position for longer than they would care to admit.

"Percy help me with Jason will you?" Annabeth asked as she struggled against his weight to lay him down on the hard ground. Percy rushed to her side and between the two of them they had managed to maneuver Jason onto his back. She felt around with her two fingers to try and find his pulse, leaning down near his mouth to listen for breathing. Percy sat back on his haunches, staring at her, his own pulse pounding.

"He's still breathing, that's a good sign," Annabeth sighed, wiping a piece of hair from her flushed face.

"Of course he is, I would have felt if he had died," Nico said from his corner. Percy turned to look at him, his brow wrinkling at Nico's strange comment. Nico had gone white as a sheet and was nervously twitching in his chair. Percy casted a sharp glance at Piper who nodded.

"I'll talk to him, he does this every now and then, part of his disability according to Chiron," she said. "Grover why don't you go scout around for some food or something."

Grover made a nervous bleating sound. "But what about the creepy store owner? I'm pretty sure we're all good, I have plenty of tin cans in my backpack."

"Grover, only you have the digestive system of a goat. The rest of us would prefer not to try and choke down a tin can. We value our lives," Leo snorted. Grover fiddled with his rasta cap.

"Don't worry G-man, there's no creepy lady up there. It's all safe. But if I were you I would avoid the tomatoes," Percy said, turning back to Annabeth. She had rolled Jason over onto his side and bent the top leg so that his knee and hip were at right angles. "What are you doing?" He asked her.

"Trying to remember the First Aid elective I took a few years ago. I should have known to study up on CPR before we left. How could I be so stupid?" She asked, her brow furrowed in concentration as she felt his pulse again. "I think that he's fine, just unconscious but I'm worried about this." She parted away Jason's blond hair and showed Percy the large gash. "I'm afraid that it might lead to a concussion which is not good news for him. Especially since he's unconscious. A lot of the time when a concussion patient goes unconscious there's memory issues."

"What can I do to help?" Percy asked.

Annabeth scanned the room. "Grab me that cushion from the office chair. We need to elevate his legs." Percy wrestled it from the chair, using his knife to break the seams which connected it to the chair. He tossed it to Annabeth who rolled Jason onto his back and then placed his legs on top of the cushion. "Can you run upstairs and see if this convenience store carries any first aid?" She asked. Percy nodded and then headed up the stairs, two by two.

Medusa had put them in her basement office while she had been out trying to hunt Annabeth and Percy. As soon as Annabeth had killed her, all of her precious puppies had keeled over and stopped working, their blood red eyes winking out of existence. The two of them had sprinted towards the store—well as best as one could sprint while dragging the body of an android— trying to back track their way out of the forest. Thankfully Annabeth was a semi-experienced tracker and managed to get them out alive with only minor injuries.

Upstairs Grover was raiding the wall which held all of the refrigerated foods and drinks. "Dude they have microwavable enchiladas!" He called to Percy who searched the different aisles for the first aid section, he grunted in reply.

"Hey Percy?" Grover asked, appearing at the end of the aisle he was in. "Is that tomato juice or blood?" His voice was quiet and Percy looked up at his quickly, Grover's legs were shaking and Percy was worried that he was going to pass out.

"It's only tomato juice man, only tomato juice." Grover nodded but it was obvious he didn't believe Percy. But sometimes a person has to lie to themselves in order to live. Sometimes you have to block out all terrible ideas that enter your mind and tell yourself it's all rainbows and butterflies even when it's storm clouds and bats.

Grover disappeared back to the food.

Percy triumphantly found the first aid section and grabbed everything that looked helpful and then headed back downstairs, dumping it all next to Annabeth. "Hey Leo what time is it?" He called, as he helped Annabeth tear open some of the first aid kits so that she could go rooting through them for whatever she needed.

"Time for you to get a watch," Leo called back from where he sat perched on the now cushionless office chair, scanning the computer.

"Now is not the time for jokes you idiot," Piper said from where she was patting Nico's hand, trying to comfort him.

"I'm not joking, you really should get a watch if we're going to go on any more of these crazy life or death missions. But for now it's almost three in the morning."

"Great," Percy muttered. They had to get back before classes the next day and with the state they were in, it didn't look like that was going to happen.

"Go drape this on Nico's shoulders," Annabeth ordered, tossing Percy a small plastic package.

"You want me to put a poncho on Nico's shoulders?" He asked, confused. Annabeth rolled her eyes and then went back to pressing a clean cloth on Jason's head. "No Seaweedbrain, it's a blanket. I'm pretty sure that he's going into shock."

"Or he's just crazy," Leo supplied, cheerfully clacking away at the computer.

"Not helping," Annabeth said. Percy did as was instructed, draping it over the dark haired boy's shoulders.

"You alright Nico?" He asked.

"My head hurts, my head hurts, my head hurts. I keep seeing death, dying, decay," Nico murmured again and again.

"He sounds like we're in English class and we're discussing parallelism," Percy muttered to himself.

"Percy get over here so I can check out your arm," Annabeth instructed. Percy obeyed and plopped himself back down next to her. Her fierce grey eyes studied the bloodied arm and her nose wrinkled slightly. She turned a light shade of green. "That looks awful."

"It feels awful too," Percy supplied. She glared at him but the corner of her lips quirked upwards in the beginnings of a smile.

"Is that a smile I see?" Percy said, grinning. Annabeth quickly turned away, focusing on Jason's bloodied head.

"No you idiot, I'm just stretching my mouth muscles," she said sarcastically.

"Nope pretty sure that's a smile Wise Girl," he said, reaching over and gently touching the corner of her mouth. Her head snapped back to Percy but instead of growling at him to stop touching her, she merely sighed. "Hold this down with your other arm and I'll fix your arm. It looks like you're not going to be driving back."

With quick hands, Annabeth cleaned the cut which looked as if someone had used a cheese grater on it. It felt like it too. Percy winced and bit his lip as she cleaned it and then quickly wrapped a bandage around it and then repeating the process. The cut ran all the way up to his shoulder, an insane length but if he had learned anything about tonight it was one thing.

Insanity could happen.

Maybe he should go to Orofino, Idaho. He'd fit right in with all that he'd seen.

Then again technically he already was at a place for the insane.

Maybe he was.

Yeah… he was pretty sure that he was.

"Can you move your arm?" Annabeth said gently, touching his injured shoulder with feathery fingers. It was then that Percy realized just how much it hurt. Before all of the adrenaline had only created a somewhat painful feeling but now… now it felt like he was going to die and even in death it was still going to hurt him.

What could he say, his pain intolerance wasn't the greatest.

"I think you should just amputate it," he groaned dramatically and he heard Leo snicker from the desk.

"This isn't the Civil War Jackson, I'm just going to put it in a sling and then you're going to take some Ibuprofen and act like a big boy. Is that possible for you?"

"I don't know, I like my three year old mentality. It's going to be pretty hard." This time he actually got a smile from Annabeth as she folded the materiel which had been included in one of the first aid kits for this very purpose.

"Well I'm sure you'll live so put your arm against your chest and bite your tongue to keep from screaming. And if you don't think you can do that, let me know and I'll shove a sock in your mouth." She pushed his arm gently into position.

He stared at her.

She was certainly pretty. Beautiful even with her long princess curls and tan skin that look like she had just walked off of a California beach. But Percy was certain that he didn't love her for that. He loved her… well it was strange, so strange but he loved her because he _knew_ her. Because he was certain that he would never love anyone else but her.

Love was insanity. Love was madness. Maybe that's why he was at Goode.

Because he was in love.

"Will you stop staring at me?" Annabeth's words snapped him out of his daydream. "It's creepy."

"But what if I like staring at beautiful people?"

"Then you should come up with a better hookup line because I'm not falling for it. And any self respecting young woman shouldn't either," she said saucily, as she tied the knot for his sling around his neck.

"Thank you," he said, grinning.

"If you two lovebirds are done, can we start discussing what the hell happened tonight because I'm pretty sure I spent more than a few hours unconscious and I would like to know where I am and why there's a large catalog on this computer for all students at Camp Halfblood," Leo interrupted.

"What!" Annabeth exclaimed, shooting upwards and pushing Leo out of the chair. "Let me see that." Soon she was absorbed in the computer screen.

"So it only took you guys nearly dying for you to make a move on her did it? Good job Casanova," Leo grinned, plunking himself down next to Percy who was growing slightly irritated at having to play nursemaid to an unconscious Jason and at having images of kissing Annabeth floating around in his mind. He found that that was the only thing he really wanted to do right now.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Percy said indignantly.

"Sure you don't," Leo rolled his eyes. "But we all know what happened. The same thing that happens whenever the girl requests to watch a scary movie because let's be honest, no girl actually _likes_ scary movies."

"Could you just shut up Leo?" Percy asked. He suddenly felt a wave of nausea and tiredness. His arm hurt and Annabeth wasn't sitting next to him anymore. He wasn't one to normally snap at people—usually he was the one everyone liked to snap at—but right now he was not in the mood for jokes.

Thankfully Grover came thumping down the stairs with arms full of food which he promptly dropped on one of the tables. Leo scrambled up towards the pile and began to pick through for something to eat. Percy let out a sigh of relief and looked down at the now bloodied cloth. "Hey Annabeth, the bandage is completely soaked on Jason's head, what should I do?" He asked.

"Don't take it off, just put a new one on overtop of it," she said, not even turning away from the computer screen.

"Here, I'll do it," Piper said softly, coming up and kneeling down next to Percy, picking up a fresh bandage and removing Percy's hand from Jason's head. Percy stared at the tender way Piper pushed some of Jason's hair away from his eyes, a soft look in those kaleidoscope eyes of hers.

He knew that deep down, Piper still loved Jason even after how he had treated her. And while she had done the right thing and left him, you couldn't exactly stop love from happening.

"So how about story time Percy, why don't you tell us what exactly happened and where we are," Grover said nervously, sitting down on one of the chairs. He kept looking around as if afraid that he would see blood staining the walls.

Percy was pretty sure that the mysterious red stain in one of the corners of the room was.

"I'll be right back, it'll help if I show you guys something." Percy headed upstairs, his feet thumping against the wooden slates.

They had left Medusa's body on the front porch, too exhausted and worried about their friends to drag it inside. It was a difficult task, dragging a mechanical body through a store with only one arm. As he pulled it down the stairs, the body flopped like a rag doll or a dead fish.

Leo yelled in shock.

Piper covered her mouth.

Nico didn't move.

Grover screamed.

"Meet Medusa guys," Percy said kicking the body a little.

"Seaweed Brain, please refrain from destroying the evidence," Annabeth called from her seat at the computer.

"What is it?" Piper asked, her nose wrinkling at the oil which was spilling out of a large gash. In an instant, Leo was on the floor next to it, tinkering around, surveying it. "Holy Festus this is an incredible piece of machinery. It looks so realistic from the outside." He looked at Percy with wild, excited eyes. "Where the hell did you manage to find this?"

"That would be the lady that tried to kill us all."

"What?!" Grover asked. "A machine?"

"She's designed to kill people like us," Percy explained. "Designed to make sure that if any of us stop by here, she kills them. She's a hunter."

"Created by PAIL."

"What's a pail?"

"PAIL. It's some organization that's been working behind the scenes at Camp Halfblood," Percy explained. Leo's eyes widened.

"Whoa, so it's like an acronym for something. Like in those movies and those books! What are those called… Dystopian?"

"I'm shocked that you actually read," Percy said. "I have no idea what a dystopian is but sure. Medusa was programmed to kill me and Annabeth and in guilt by association or whatever that court thing is called, you guys too. She has this game where she lets the people she's try to kill go and try to hide in the forest and then she hunts you."

"That's sick," Piper said.

"And if she finds you then you die. And she always finds you. She had this massive pack of these robotic dogs just like her."

"But she didn't kill you guys," Grover pointed out.

"And for that I am grateful for. But it was some kind of test that we had to pass," he explained.

"But also the kind of test that if you didn't pass you wouldn't just get a red F on your test paper, you'd actually die," Piper said.

"Man that's harsh. Could you imagine if Dodds did that in math class? I'm sure she would if she could," Leo joked.

"Why would this PAIL or whatever it is want to kill you guys? Or even us for that matter? We're just crazy people. I have the doctor's note to prove it!" Grover said, waving his hands in the air for emphasis but in reality it just made him look like a fish out of water.

"No you're not," Annabeth said from her computer but when she didn't continue to explain when everyone looked at her, they assumed that she was merely talking to herself.

"It's as if they were trying to weed you out," Piper pointed out.

"Exactly." Annabeth stood up from the cushion-less chair and turned around to face them, her grey eyes sparkling with knowledge and Percy knew that she had figured something out. "It's survival of the fittest."

"Huh?" Percy asked.

"Darwinism. Did you never read his _Origin of Species_? I'm not saying that I agree with him but he had this idea, this concept that nature kills the weak, only the strong survive. That way only the best and the brightest are still alive in the end which allows for better generations because the strongest will mate with each other, creating an even better next group of the species. Survival of the fittest, read _Call of the Wild_ , it's a great example of it."

"So would you care to explain to us who don't spend all of their moments reading?" Leo asked.

"It's interesting how you know what Dystopian novels are Valdez but you don't know about such classics as _The Call of the Wild_ and one of the greatest works of science and even arguably by some people, religion ever. But to 'dumb it down' as you say. They were weeding us out."

There was a collective silence at Annabeth's statement.

"There's a list on Medusa's computer, just as Leo said, with information about all of us, about any person who has ever stepped foot into Goode. It's detailed, down to our height, weight, hair color, our diagnosis. What are freaking favorite color is."

"Oh yeah, what's my favorite color?" Leo asked.

"Red. Like fire."

He was silent.

Annabeth continued.

"Every person that no longer goes there has a line through their name. A red line. They've been crossed off of the list. Some of us have asterisks next to our names, little stars. Some of us have dashes.

"They're cataloging us, marking us. It's like we're animals and they've tagged us. They know our parents… or our parent."

The uncomfortable silence returned.

"What do you mean by parent?" Grover asked.

"All of us only have one parent. Haven't you thought about it? I only have my dad, Percy you only have your mom. And if we don't have one then we have none like Leo." Leo's face turned bright red.

"How… how did you know that?" Leo asked.

"I didn't, the computer did. _They_ did. But the scary thing is that they _know_ us. They know what we're going to do even before we know it. They knew that Percy and I would be here today."

"What about us? Didn't they know about us?"

"They knew about you, Piper, and Nico. They had no idea about Grover and Jason."

"Jason because it goes against anything that he's been doing. It goes against his pattern of living, because he hated us," Piper supplied.

"And Grover… well Grover, you're not even in the system. I looked."

Percy looked at the boy who thought he looked like a goat, who was looking down at his feet nervously. "I'm not supposed to be at Goode. I really did grow up in the wilderness, Chiron found me and offered me a place at Goode and I accepted. Do you know how awful it is to live with goats?"

"That explains it then. Grover wasn't predicted because they don't even know Grover exists."

"But now they do," Percy said quietly, voicing the idea that had come to Annabeth's mind.

"And they know that Jason's a flaw. He's not acting as he's supposed to be acting. I bet that tomorrow they'll ask for him to go have an unscheduled checkup in the basement. They'll say that he hasn't been performing well in classes, that he looks sick but really he's fine. He's being _Jason_ just not the Jason they want him to be."

"You're saying that all the moments when they prick and poke and jab me with needles that I'm actually not sick? I'm actually not crazy?" Leo asked, fuming.

"Oh no, you're crazy. But not the crazy they want you to think. You're not _normal_ Leo and they're worried about that."

"What do you mean I'm not normal?" He asked. A shiver ran down Percy's spine at the thought. The way Annabeth looked, her eyes alight, her words quick and fast. Something was going on here.

Something not _normal._

"They say that humans only use ten percent of their brain—" Annabeth began but Piper quickly interrupted her.

"Annabeth you know that's a myth. They teach us in biology that that's not correct, that the human race only _understands_ about ten percent of the brain, not that we only use ten percent of the brain."

Annabeth grinned at Piper. "That's what they want you to think. In reality we do only use a limited amount of our brain. Well most of us. Apparently we don't."

Silence once again.

"We use more than ten percent and that's what they're worried about. It's why we're faster, quicker, stronger, smarter… well with the exception of Percy that is."

"Hey!" Percy protested but he left it at only one word, too tired to argue any more.

"I still don't get what is going on here," Leo said.

"What else is new?" Piper muttered.

"What I'm trying to tell you all is that they're testing us because they want to find out which ones of us are the best, the strongest. Who uses the most of their brain. They're testing us. We're special. We don't conform to the rules of the rest of the world. We live outside of the normal boundaries of humanity.

We don't have to follow their rules."

The sheer idea that those who they had said were insane, those who were dumber than the average human was crazy.

"It's official, I'm definitely living in a Dystopian world. I must be divergent or something!" Leo said gleefully.

"We have to go," Percy said suddenly, standing up straight from where he had been leaning against one of the tables. Everyone looked at him strangely.

"But the computer!" Annabeth said, motioning to what for her was the holy grail of information. "Percy this is all the information we need to figure out what's going on."

It was tempting, it was so tempting, to rush through page after page, folder after folder of information about just who they were, _what_ they were. But it felt wrong. There was a feeling in Percy's stomach which was twisting and turning, rolling and fighting. They had to get out of here. Something was not right.

Not right at all.

"No we need to go. Now." Annabeth began to protest but Percy cut her off. "Listen to me Annabeth, that's what they want you to do. They want you to go looking through the computer. They knew we were going to kill Medusa. They knew we would look at the computer." He paused, looking her dead in the eye before continuing. "You can't think about what you want to do because they know what you would want to do. Somehow they know your tendencies, your patterns, who you are. They probably know more about ourselves than we do.

You have to do the opposite of what you would normally do. Now you aren't playing against an unknown enemy. You're playing against yourself."

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

_"Mr. Jackobs?" The man with the sea green eyes didn't look up from his sketchbook, his pencil still madly swirling against the paper in a race against time in order to finish it. "Mr. Jackobs." At the annoying repetition of his name, he looked up, a frown on his face._

_ "What?" He asked, sounding angry. _

_ Which he was. When he was drawing he had no want to be interrupted by a man dressed in far better clothes than he could ever afford. An artist's wages weren't that grand. Especially an artist who had become a part of the ever growing Impressionist movement. Even with the Impressionist galleries, Potter Jackobs had yet to sell many of his paintings. _

_ "I'm sorry for interrupting your art Mr. Jackobs but I need you to come with me," the man said in a stiff, formal tone. _

_ "Whatever for?" Potter asked, looking back at his sketchbook and at the piercing grey eyes that stared back at him. He smiled. He loved drawing Alice's eyes. There was something about them that drew him in and swallowed him whole. _

_ Gods she was the most perfect creature on God's planet. As an artist he was attracted to beautiful things, always looking for new inspiration. For him Alice was his muse as no one else had ever been. Every time he thought about her, his heart both ached and rejoiced at the same time, a paradox that he was more than happy to welcome._

_ "It's about your fiancée," the man said. Potter looked up quickly. About Alice? What about Alice? _

_ "Is she alright?" He asked hastily, jerking his sketchbook close and shoving his pencils into his patched up pocket. He ran a hand through his messy raven black hair and stood up. _

_ "We were hoping that you could answer that for us. My name is Inspector Jacque Paul. I need you to come with me." _

_ "Of course, of course," Potter muttered, looking around trying to make sure he didn't forget anything. "Lead the way Inspector."_

_ Inspector Jacque Paul led him to a small rundown flat near the center of Paris, one which Potter knew all too well. It was his flat, soon to be his and Alice's. Alice's parents never approved of their impending marriage as Potter was a starving artist and Alice was an educated, proper young lady of society. She had many other marriage offerings but she had chosen Potter._

_ The two of them had met by chance at one of the Impressionist galleries where Potter was showing his paintings. Alice had always been different from the rest of her peers and had fallen in love with the infamous _Impressionist: Sunrise_ by Monet and had attended every gallery she could sneak out to. She had run into Potter at one of them._

_ Literally run into him._

_ She was slightly clumsy for all of her appearance of poise and beauty._

_ "Why are we here? I thought you were bringing me to Alice," Potter asked, confused as he saw policemen milling around outside of his flat. What was going on? He clutched his sketchbook in hand and looked around. "Where's Alice?"_

_ "Mr. Jackobs, Alice Clements has been murdered."_

_ The world stopped in that moment for Potter Jackobs. His heart was both beating and failing him._

_ "W…wha…what?" He asked, his mouth feeling too dry to properly form words. Alice couldn't be dead. This man was lying, lying to him. Tell him falsehoods. He was a liar._

_ Liar!_

_ "Alice is not dead!" Potter cried. "She can't be! We're to be married in two weeks. I saw her just this morning and she was perfectly healthy."_

_ "Of course Mr. Jackobs. That is why we are concerned. You were the last one to see Miss Clements. Her parents said she went to meet you at a café and never returned home. The owner of the café said you two left together."_

_ "Of course we did! We went for a walk just as we always do. I was looking for something to paint and Alice has always been interested in botany so we walked in the park."_

_ "And yet Miss Clements ends up dead in your apartment." _

_ "Are you suggesting I killed her?" He asked, gobsmacked. How could anyone ever accuse him of murdering his perfect, lovely, beautiful fiancée? The girl he loved more than life itself. _

_ "Mr. Jackobs we have to consider every possibility at PAIL," the inspector said. "Please come in, perhaps you could identify the body."_

_ It was strange to have a stranger inviting Potter into his own home as if he no longer lived there. Everything looked normal. His canvases were still set up, some covered with sheets, others empty, waiting for inspiration to strike. His small kitchen was untouched. _

_ But it was in his bedroom that he fell to the floor and couldn't help but hurl. _

_ Lying on the bed was Alice Clements, her blonde princess curls neatly framing her face, her hands folded over her stomach, her eyes closed. It looked as if she was merely asleep. _

_ But her face was cold and white as ice and a blooming flower of red stained her dress underneath her hands. Potter crawled to the bedside, looking at his Alice, his vision swimming. It was as if he had seen this all before. _

_ He of course had._

_ He and Alice had suspected it for a while now, that they had known each other before they had met in this life. _

_ "No, no, no, no," he muttered again and again, his hands touching her cold form, thirsting for her touch to return. He was so certain she would wake up and laugh at him, tell him it was all right, kiss his forehead. "Please, please, please," he prayed again and again to no avail. _

_ "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," he said again and again._

_ "Mr. Jackobs is this your fiancée Alice Clements?" Inspector Jacque Paul asked. He couldn't respond, there were no words right now. "Mr. Jackobs I need you to come down to the station with me for the murder of Alice Clements."_

_ He felt nothing._

_ Nothing at all._

_ He was going to die._

_ Die of a broken heart._

_ If _they_ didn't get to him first. _

_ He froze._

_ "Where did you say you're from?" He asked, whirling around and staring at the man. Where were all of the police? Why weren't they in here? Why were they outside?_

_ The man smiled._

_ "Yes Mr. Jackobs, yes."_

_ And then everything went dark._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Percy didn't want to know how a girl who had never stepped foot outside of Camp Half-blood for the past few years for more than a few hours at a time had learned how to drive a car. He was afraid that if he asked her, Annabeth would respond with the author of a book. Now it wasn't that Percy Jackson did not appreciate book (not that he read them a lot) and he was sure that the book would be one of the best ones there was about how to drive a car, not like The Dummy's Guide to Driving a Car or something like that—Annabeth wouldn't stand for being called a dummy. The fact of the matter was that there were some things in life that you had to learn from actually _doing _it, not just reading a five hundred page book about it.

Driving a car was one of those things which fitted into that category.

You could read as many books as your heart desired, but Percy was certain that reading a book could never actually prepare you for getting behind the wheel. Most novice drivers didn't understand the power that little circular thing had, one wrong turn to the left and you could go up in a ball of fiery flames and gasoline which was not something Percy had on his bucket list. The way Annabeth drove with jerky movements made Percy know right away—even though he would never actually tell it to her face—that Annabeth had never driven a car before.

But his arm was bloodied and was being held captive by a piece of blood splattered cloth so there was really nothing he could do about it. And of course one had to debate the merits of driving when you were high on pain killer, after all the bottle did say avoid working with heavy machinery (when he was little Percy always thought that meant washing machines).

So after they had torched the little Emporium (Leo had stubbornly refused to move from the creepy basement—even after Nico accidently discovered the dead bodies—until they had agreed to light it up. Annabeth put up no fight toward the proposition so Leo had enthusiastically raided the "Grilling" section which conveniently contained enough matches and gasoline thank you very much. Percy had noticed Annabeth stuffing folders into her backpack when she thought that everyone else wasn't watching. The look she gave him—a mix between a guilty glance and a threatening glare— told him to shut up and that she'd tell him later. Ten minutes later everyone but Leo was standing by the van, watching as he dramatically walked out of the store, the door swinging behind him. Somehow he had found a pair of sunglasses which were now perched on his nose, a maniacal grin on his face as he lit a lighter and tossed it behind him. Boom) and gotten out of the parking lot alive—thankfully Annabeth understood the term "hit the gas!"—everyone in the back three rows of the van was passed out. (Well Jason was barely conscious when they left so that was understandable of course.)

At first Percy had argued with Annabeth, saying that he was still able to drive a car, after all he had been able to drive one handed once before when he was trying to simultaneously slurp a blue Coke, but Annabeth wouldn't hear it. "Trust me Seaweed Brain, I'm perfectly capable driving a car."

"Name one time when you've actually gotten behind the wheel and driven a car," he said while Piper and Grover were helping Jason hobble towards the van.

"That's irrelevant," she said, tossing her hand in the air flippantly. "The point is your arm is in no way, shape, or form capable of driving a car and I am. I'm in no mood to see you bleed all over the van. Contrary to popular belief, I enjoy your stupidity every now and then."

He had to think for a moment about that backhanded compliment.

"Hey, you can go ahead and go to sleep if you want," Annabeth said quietly, stirring Percy out of his slight stupor. He turned to look at her from where he sat shot gun. There were deep circles under her eyes and she was incredibly pale, as if she might pass out at any time. But Percy knew that she never would. That was the thing about Annabeth Chase, she just kept going and going, she didn't stop. And he was afraid of it. He was afraid that she would work herself hard until she had nothing left.

"Nah I'm fine. One should never drive alone at night when oneself is tired," he quoted Paul, wagging his pointer finger at her disapprovingly.

"And yet semi-truck drivers do it all of the time."

"Well the problem with that is you're too beautiful to be a truck driver."

Annabeth was silent for a moment and the only sound in the car was the occasional, loud snore echoing from Grover. "So you think I'm beautiful?"

"Are we actually going to discuss this now?" Percy asked, glancing back at the sleeping teenagers. Annabeth shrugged. "Why not? We got pretty close to dying today so it's not like anything is going to change. You do get that people are trying to kill us right."

"If my memory serves me correctly, which of course you'll have to forgive me, I can't properly remember between the invasion of the barbarians and Rome all the way to the time period of around the Song of Roland, it seems that we have a habit of dying a lot."

Annabeth snorted. "I don't think 'a lot' correctly describes it."

"How long have you known?" Percy asked, leaning against the door of the car and staring at her. He hadn't used the seatbelt due to his shoulder which – although unsafe—allowed him to sit comfortably and watch her expressions.

"For a while now I guess," she sighed. "I don't think I can actually pinpoint the time when I knew for sure that you were the one I kept dreaming about. I've been having the dreams for a long time as you probably know from experience. That's the reason I'm at Goode, because my parents decided I was too difference, too unstable. My stepmother wanted to try shock therapy but my father decided that wasn't the best option, especially since I was so young. So they got this nifty flyer in the mail and here I am.

"When you first came I didn't really want to believe it, but then stuff happened and the dreams got worse and I figured it was because you were here. And of course there was the whole name thing which got suspicious after a while."

"The name thing?" Percy asked.

"Haven't you notice? Alice Clements, Potter Jackobs, Paxton Jonathon. Our names are similar yet not the same. It's interesting especially since we're not always the same."

"You always are," Percy interrupted her. He instantly blushed. "What I meant was that you're always blonde… and… smart… and…" His voice trailed off, embarrassed. Annabeth smirked.

"And you always have a tendency to stumble through what you actually mean to say. I guess that's one of the reasons I love you."

"Is it really love though? Just because we've loved each other before? Or at least we _think_ we have. What if we're both just incredibly delusional and it's all a big, impressive coincidence which could go down in the world's records?"

"I've thought about that," Annabeth said slowly. "Trust me, I have studied this at every aspect possible. My brain keeps trying to view it all as a formula, as a math equation and that I just have to plug in the right numbers for X or Y and maybe sometimes A and B and then I'll get the answer. But then I have to realize that this has nothing to do with math or science.

"Someone once told me I have to stop viewing the world as something that I can solve."

"What are you supposed to view it as then?" He asked, staring at Annabeth's face which was now focused intensely on the road in front of her.

"As a great tragedy, one of the best in the world. Apparently not everything can be explained using formulas. This whole situation is like strange, it's unique. It's like the imaginary root you always forget to calculate or when you sometimes have to add 180 degrees when you find the arctan. Maybe it's one of those rare exceptions in the world. Do you even understand what I'm saying because sometimes I don't."

"A lot of the time we read stories about fantastic events, about occurrence that shouldn't happen, like a man who dies and then comes back to life. We don't believe them right?" Percy asked.

"Right," Annabeth nodded.

"But at the same time, they still have happened. We might not believe them and we like to come up with scientific explanations for the whole thing but sometimes there just isn't one. Maybe… just maybe, we're living one of those occurrences right now. Maybe we're the strange ones, the weird ones, the miraculous ones. Maybe we're the ones that no one ever thought would exist and yet we do. No one a thousand years ago would have ever thought that we could even be driving in this car.

"Why can't we set the standards? Why can't we be the ones who the miracles happen to?" Percy asked.

Annabeth smiled. "Sometimes Percy Jackson, I forget that I'm supposed to be smarter than you."

"The reason they're called miracles is because they happen to those who don't believe they would. I can't think of any scientific explanation for our rebirth, therefore I guess we just have to believe that it's happened. I know, I know, I know that I've met you before. I know that I love you."

They were quiet for a moment. Confessions of love are serious things. You can't just pass them by flippantly, love isn't something you play with. A person isn't created to have a broken heart. They are born complete, they deserve to die complete.

"Even though I nearly killed you?" Annabeth asked hesitantly. Percy laughed.

"Even though you tried to kill me. I find it more attractive when a girl doesn't fall head over heels for me."

"I tried to stay away, I honestly did. When I began to think that you were the boy from my dreams I panicked. I didn't want it to happen again. I figured what if I just ignored you, what if I purposely tried to make you hate me. And I was already dating someone and it just didn't make sense. Nothing made sense. So I made the effort to hate you. But that's not an easy thing to do Percy. You're honestly a really hard guy to hate. And then when you beat up Luke and… and… I knew that I couldn't try and hold it back anymore."

"You do realize that you're professing you're undying love to me in a van filled with hormonal teenagers who could awaken at any moment?" Percy asked.

"Focus on the word 'undying,'" Annabeth muttered and Percy laughed again.

"It still amazes me every time you make a joke. I never knew you had it in yourself Wise Girl." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Where do we go from here?" Percy asked. Annabeth's brow furrowed.

"I honestly don't know."

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

Sneaking back into Camp Half-Blood was surprisingly easy. The rope of sheets had been untampered with and although they ended up having to tie Jason into it and hoist him up, the overall process went smoothly.

It was a little too smoothly for Percy's liking. He kept expecting a metallic dog and a maniac metal woman to come crashing out of the middle of nowhere, chasing them and screaming "Medusa is me! I am her! Die dirty, rotten scum!"

Thankfully none of that happened. But still, Percy was prepared for it. Or as prepared as a slightly crippled high school junior could do. As his sword arm was tied up in a sling, he wished that he at least had a can of pepper spray. Then again he wasn't certain how that would work against metal.

Briefly he thanked whichever god was in charge of gym class, for making Coach Hedge obsessed with the strange idea of making his students scale a wall with only one arm. The idea seemed ridiculous at the time but Coach Hedge had insisted, "You never know when you might have to perform an amputation on your arm in the heat of battle and then run away like a coward with his head cut off."

Percy was pretty sure that the correct expression involved a chicken but that was beside the point.

The true hard part of the night involved what to do with Jason Grace. He was currently unconscious again and Annabeth agreed with Leo when he said, "I don't think he's supposed to be that color." The group decided that Piper, who somehow managed to look the least beat up, would bring Jason to the infirmary, claiming that he had started sleepwalking and had fallen down the stairs and hit his head.

They could only pray that the nurse wouldn't know that Jason's room was on the bottom floor and therefore would not involve falling down stairs.

"Everyone get to bed," Annabeth instructed like a mother hen as they stood huddled behind the rock climbing wall, watching Piper struggle under the heavy weight of Jason across the field. Percy had offered to help but Piper said she was fine and then pointed out that he was in no shape himself to help what with his arm and all.

"You can't just say that Chase and expect us all to tromp off like good little children—which we're not by the way, I mean I just blew up a freaking building—and go to sleep. We basically just discovered someone was trying to kill us and now you're telling us 'sleep tight, don't let the crazy, maniac, metal obsessed guys in black suits kill you,'" Leo complained.

"How do you know they're in black suits?" Grover asked, confused.

"All the bad, government agents are in the movies," Leo explained as if he were talking to a little child. "And they usually have those crazy, awesome sunglasses which can see what you look like naked."

"Okay then…" Annabeth said, putting a quick halt to that train of thought. Percy was thankful for the dark cloak of night to cover up his blush. "Don't worry Leo, we'll talk about it tomorrow when everyone else has had some sleep and we all have our heads screwed on straight."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Nico said. Everyone turned to look at him. He had barely said enough words to make up a sentence this whole time.

"What do you mean?" Grover asked.

"Won't they be watching us?" Nico asked, Percy couldn't decide if he sounded nervous or just extremely tired. "Making sure that we don't meet up with each other tomorrow. I don't know… maybe we should wait a few days."

"Excellent idea Nico," Annabeth said. "It will give me time to think it all over." Percy could see the wheels turning in her brain. She was thinking about those folders she had swiped. "Alright, three days, the rec room… no better yet, on top of the rock climbing wall."

"Won't that cause everyone to grow suspicious? After all no one has ever climbed to the top," Percy pointed out.

"Well, if we're going to be killed which a very real possibility, why not go down in style?" Annabeth smirked.

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

He found it hard to focus throughout the following day. He had reported to the infirmary before breakfast, reporting that he had been practicing his sword play with a fellow student (who remained anonymous) and had gotten into an accident. The nurse—not Clara—had grumbled about how students shouldn't be allowed to use sharp objects to which Percy responded with where was the fun in that.

The nurse wrapped his arm with a stretchy bandage after disinfecting it. If she found anything suspicious about the fact that it looked as if his arm had become the toy of a huge mutant dog, she said nothing. Thankfully she didn't see the need in Percy using a sling—or she just wanted him to get the heck out of there so that she could play Trivia Crack on her phone.

At breakfast, he had sat at his usual table with Leo and Nico. Grover was still asleep and Piper was at the infirmary with Jason. "They made up last night," Leo explained as he reached over to steal some of Nico's eggs and sausage.

"They did?" Percy asked. "But I thought Piper still hated his guts."

Leo shook his head. "Nah. Well I mean she did. Of course she did, he was a total jackass. But last night—or was it morning—when he was in a delirious state between the painkiller and just his head he said some stuff to her. Resulted in smeared mascara and a lot of tissues, trust me, I saw the wastebasket beside his bed. She didn't leave his side all night. I went to check on Jason and he apologized and we all had one big cry fest. Well I didn't… and Jason didn't really either. It was just Piper."

Percy was happy for the trio. They had obviously been close before Jason became a total douche. "Jason offered to let me punch him in payback for all of the stupid things he did but I said that a concussion made up for it all. It's strange though, Jason can't even remember why he acted the way he did. He said and I quote 'I just woke up one day and felt like you guys were idiots and I hated you.'"

Percy was pretty sure it didn't work that way and Annabeth voiced his opinion as she came up behind him and plopped down, a glass of a strange looking concoction in her hand. "It takes a whole lot longer than one night's sleep to actually hate someone. What?" She asked, looking at Percy's confused face. "Oh this? It's a smoothie."

"That doesn't look like a smoothie."

"Well it is."

"That is so not a smoothie Annabeth," Percy disagreed. She rolled her eyes.

"Some of us don't find smoothies filled with a lot of sugar and fruit juices and all of that appealing at all. It's a green smoothie."

"Great, I'm dating a health food addict. You probably don't even drink fish oil, you just skip the in between and just hook the fish right up to your veins," Percy groaned.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "So we're dating now? Why wasn't I aware of this?"

"Well I figured after last night that…"

"If your idea of a first date is nearly getting killed by a psychotic machine then I can't wait until our second date." Percy didn't know whether to be nervous or excited that she had agreed to a second date… not that they actually had a proper first date. Then something hit him—hypothetically of course, he had learned a while ago how to properly duck and protect his head from flying food in the cafeteria—what did one do for a date at Goode? It wasn't like you could just go to the movies, heck you couldn't even go to McDonalds.

"I'm pleased to find that you finally decided to take my advice Jackson," Leo said, leaning over the table to slap Percy on the back.

"I'm not sure how comforted I am by the fact that you guys are discussing my love life behind my back," Annabeth clucked her tongue disapprovingly.

"Apparently there's a bet going around," Percy added but as soon as he saw the look on her face, he quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Hey now, I didn't start it, hell I didn't know about it until yesterday." Annabeth sighed and shook her head.

"Well I've got to get to a tutoring session before classes start. I'll see later Seaweed Brain, I need to talk to you about something." She stood up, kissed him on the cheek, and then disappeared out of the door.

"Whoot, whoot. Jackson got some PDA from Chase. That's pretty legendary," Leo cheered.

He sat there dazed until someone slammed a fist down on the table. He looked up to see Luke fuming in front of him. Any normal person would have been terrified and probably run at the look across the pale blonde boy's face but Percy just found it slightly comical. After what he had seen last night, after nearly dying, after kissing Annabeth, Luke Castellan didn't scare him at all.

He was just like one of those bullies on the playground who liked to steal his chocolate bar when he was little. And Percy knew how to handle bullies.

"What do you want?" Leo asked, speaking before Percy was able to say anything.

"Shut up Valdez," Luke growled, not even turning to look at him, all of his attention was focused on Percy. His eyes were almost slits now, growing narrower and harsher with every passing second. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Percy looked down at his plate of food and then back at Luke, raising an eyebrow. "Eating?" He said, gesturing towards the table.

"Don't be sarcastic with me you little—" Leo quickly made a loud beeping sound as soon as he saw the word begin to form on Luke's lips. Luke clenched his fists so tightly they turned white as bone. "What the hell was that for Valdez?"

"Do remember you're Head Boy Castellan and that there are innocent little children in this cafeteria," Leo shrugged. "I'm just saving your back because I care." He placed a hand on his heart as if expressing his sympathy and respect.

"No one's innocent here, especially _you_ Jackson," Luke replied coolly.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"Stay away from my girlfriend Jackson," he commanded, pointing an accusing finger at him. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Last time I checked, Annabeth wasn't your girlfriend. Last time I checked she dumped you after you were an ass. Last time I checked she was _my _girlfriend," he responded back, unafraid and undeterred. Just saying it out loud that Annabeth was his girlfriend made him feel warm and gooey inside like his mom's chocolate chip cookies. Oh gods what was he thinking. He sounded like an idiot.

A love struck idiot.

Okay. He was fine with that.

"Shut up, you have no idea what you're talking about Jackson." Percy could see the anger slowly swirling up in Luke, building upon more and more anger, creating a wall of pure anger.

"I'm pretty sure that I do Luke. I'm pretty sure that I do," he replied, standing up from his chair and walking slowly towards the door, counting to ten under his breath. If he could he would turn around and sock Luke in the jaw, lay him out so hard that he wouldn't be able to ever use that mouth to accuse him of stealing his girlfriend again. But with his arm in a sling, he didn't want to get any more beat up than possible. And he knew that if he was to do so, he would look no better than Luke.

"Where the hell do you think you're doing Jackson?" Luke asked jerking out of his chair so fast that it went flying backwards and clattered against the ground. This drew the attention of everyone who wasn't already watching they exchange between the two.

"I have classes, it is a school day after all," Percy said, altogether dismissing Luke as if he was nothing but an annoying fly buzzing in his ear.

"I didn't give you permission to leave," Luke growled, reaching out and grabbing a fistful of Percy's shirt, snagging a finger on his sling causing Percy to grimace at the pain which shot through his arm up to his shoulder.

"Last time I checked, Jefferson didn't need your permission to leave the dining hall." The room grew eerily quiet as everyone swiveled in their chairs to look toward the man in the leopard print shirt who never left his office. He was standing casually in the door way, a can of Coke in his hand, other hand in his pant pocket. Luke quickly let go of Percy's shirt, taking a quick step back and wiping his hands on his cargo pants as if he could disassociate himself from being involved in what had happened.

"Sorry sir, just making sure he knows his place," Luke said confidently. Percy scowled at him, suck up. He was all too familiar with the type: kids who were total shit heads with everyone their ages but put them in front of someone twice their age and all of a sudden it was as if they had the demons wretched from their souls. In other words: they became perfect angels.

"Oh I'm sure you were Mr. Castellan but I believe Poe Jingles knows his place." Percy winced at Mr. D's latest choice for his name.

It was painful.

"Certainly sir," Luke affirmed, nodding his head slightly. "On your way then Jackson. Wouldn't want you to be late to class now would we?" Percy traced the slight sound of sarcasm riddled in his poisonously normal comment. He scowled at Luke before pushing past Mr. D—who had a pleased look on his face, as if he had saved the world… by finally doing his job—and out into the fresh air, air which was conveniently free of Luke Castellan's evil germs.

Man he hated that guy.

"What the heck was going on in there? Hazel just came running, telling me that my boyfriend was going to no longer be among the living if I did not make haste to the dining facilities. I swear that girl swallowed a thesaurus at one point in time," Annabeth asked, running across the field towards him, her blonde hair swinging behind her in a ponytail, concern etched on her face.

"Your ex was having some issues with realizing the difference between the past and the present. He also doesn't seem to understand the definition of the derogative word you used to so kindly tell him to buzz off. Maybe you should go share it with him one more time."

Annabeth snorted, entwining her hand with Percy's. "Knowing his mind he'd just think I'd want to have sex with him. He's messed up. Most stupid thing I've ever done in my life."

"You've got that right," Percy muttered, kicking at a clump of grass with a passion as if it was Luke's scarred face.

"Don't take your anger out on the shrubbery, come with me," Annabeth said, pulling him towards the junior dorms.

"Where are we going? We have class. You're going to be late if we don't hurry. And I know that you have no desire to do so. I'm sure you have perfect attendance and no tardies. I would hate to ruin that beautiful white sheet of paper."

"Some things are more important than a sheet of paper filled with good marks. Sometimes you have to sacrifice perfection for better things. Besides, with what I have planned it's not going to matter if I have one tardy or not. It's not like these grades actually count towards anything if we're stuck here for forever."

"Touché," Percy grinned. "So where are we going?" repeated.

"My room, come on," she flung open the door and pulled him inside and up the stairs.

"Well someone's obviously in a hurry. Maybe Leo's rubbing off on you a little bit," he grinned as she opened her own door. He stood outside, running his hands over the woodwork. He followed her in and plopped down next to her on the bed which had been neatly made and tucked against the walls. He picked up a tattered, stuffed owl and turned it over in his hands. "Cute," he said. Annabeth glared at him, snatching it out of his hands and cradling it to her chest.

"Don't touch Avalon," she said hostilely.

"Whoa calm down Wise Girl, I'm not planning on stealing your precious owl. I have no use for it." Annabeth sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said after a few moments. "I've just been really stressed lately."

"Understandably so. I'm pretty sure that nearly being killed does that too you. I've heard that blowing up buildings isn't necessarily the best thing for your mental health either." He watched as Annabeth gently smoothed down her owls "feathers" and stared at her contemplatively.

"She helps with the nightmares," she said quietly. Percy mutely nodded, wrapping his uninjured arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"Hey it's all good now Wise Girl. You're not going to have any more nightmares. You've got me now." She worriedly bit her lip and nodded. "Now what did you want to talk with me about?" He asked. "It's bound to be important if you wanted to skip school. And are you sure that this room is safe? No bugs or anything?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I can't be sure anymore. I'm more relying on the fact that they're not perverts and don't enjoy watching a teenage girl get dressed." Something about her comment made Percy feel slightly angered… more than slightly. The thought of someone… _seeing_ Annabeth without her knowing… it made him want to murder someone.

Damn Annabeth was making him going bloodthirsty.

"I think we should run."

"Of course, I completely agree with you," Percy nodded. "We just have to tell Leo, Piper—"

"No Percy. I think _we _should run. Just you and I. Tonight."

"But… but what about the others? They deserve to know just as much as we do. They were there last night."

"And Jason nearly died," Annabeth said. "Look Percy, it's not that I don't want them to come. I do. But it's safer if they stay here."

"Stay where those creepy scientists can prick them with needles and experiment on them? Stay where the government can drag them away to gods know where? I don't think that sounds too safe Wise Girl."

"But if we can figure out what's going on then none of that is going to happen. We have to go fast and too many of us will just slow it down. You know that. And plus we work better as a team. We are a team."

Percy was silent, weighing his options in his mind. It was true. Despite their arguing and bric-a-brac, he and Annabeth did make a good team. A great team even. It was most likely due to the fact that they had known each other for years. Centuries even. Eons.

Okay so maybe not that far.

And as much as he didn't want to admit it, his friends did tend to slow them down sometimes. And Grover's cans could be a _little_ loud when it needed to be silent. He took a deep breath. "Are you sure we can do this? The two of us?"

"Positive," Annabeth said confidently. "I trust you."

Percy nodded. "Okay then. We'll do it. Tonight."

"Tonight," Annabeth agreed. "I have no desire to die again. This time I want my happily ever after with you."

**PLAYLIST FOR A THOUSAND YEARS (to be continued):**

**Dream- Imagine Dragons**

**Smile- Mikky Ekko (heard this song on the Paper Towns trailer. Ahhh!)**

**Believe- Mumford &amp; Sons**

**The Kids Aren't Alright- Fall Out Boy**

**How Long Will I Love You- Ellie Goulding**

**Broken Together- Casting Crowns**

**Centuries- Fall Out Boy**

**I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme)-John Rzeznik from Disney's Treasure Planet**


	15. Chapter 15

**Playlist**

**Heroes- David Bowie**

**Kings and Queens- Thirty Seconds to Mars**

**Broken Ones- Jacquie Lee**

**Be Here- Parachute**

**Keep Holding On- Avril Lavigne**

**People Like Us- Kelly Clarkson**

**I Was Made For Loving You- Tori Kelly, Ed Sheeran**

**Chapter Fifteen**

He made a note to self: Never plan an escape—nay never attempt an escape—with a metal dog chewed up arm. It makes for an experience as painful as getting dunked in a toilet four times in a row by the smelliest, ugliest gorilla to ever exist in middle school. Not that he knew from personal experience or anything like that…

Percy scanned his room quickly, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything of relative value. He managed to cram a few pairs of clothes—they probably didn't match, he hadn't checked in the first place to make sure they did. Who has time for matching clothes?—his only other pair of shoes—they were old sandals with a missing buckle but they would work in a pinch. Just a little duct tape and voila!—his framed picture of his mom and him at the beach and a few random knick knacks he had brought with him and didn't want to lose. There was no possible way he would even begin to consider bringing any form of school work—Annabeth probably would—whether it was pens, pencils, or the dreaded monsters (the cause of too many nightmares when he was younger): His textbooks. He was almost certain he would never return (or if he did he probably would not be in the best shape… there was always the possibility that he could end up dead in the end but he tended not to think about that possibility. Positivity and all that stuff) and had grown severely tempted to destroy his math textbook in a fiery inferno of… well fire. But he didn't have the time.

Maybe he could drop the book by Leo's place and give it to him. Surely he could have some fun with a match. Maybe some gasoline. Percy always wondered where he managed to get all of his supplies.

Probably the Stolls.

Most likely the Stolls.

A near silent knock echoed through his miniscule room. Before he could reach it, the door shot open and Annabeth hurried inside, her backpack slung over her shoulder. "You ready?" She asked, tightening her ponytail. "We've got to get a move on it if we're ever going to get this show on the road."

"Ready as I'll ever be," he shrugged.

"What's in your hand?" She asked, grabbing his hand and uncurling his fingers. Her touch was cold against his sweaty palms. "A sand dollar?"

Percy looked down at his hand as if he hadn't actually known he was holding it, as if he had forgot it was even there. Annabeth gently took it out of his hand and peered at it curiously. "Are you bringing this with you?"

"I can't remember."

Annabeth crinkled her nose and turned it over in her hand. "Where did you get it?"

Percy thought for a moment, trying to remember where exactly he had gotten it or even why he had it. Flashes of escaping memories—or was it just his imagination?—crept into his mind and then flew out as quickly as they had slowly entered. He could smell the sea water wafer through his nose and a warm, husky voice echoed in his mind. A door was opening and closing. A man was standing in front of him, commenting on how tall he had gotten, smelling as if he had just been swimming in the sea. A pat on his head. A happy birthday. He felt so small. And then a little blue box with a sloppy bow.

The man was gone shortly after with a smile and a wink as if he and Percy shared a certain secret. It was a rare smile, one which you may only see a few times in your life if you're lucky enough.

It was a smile which makes one feel as if he is the most important person in the giver's life. Which makes the giver seem to know everything about you and yet want to know more. That certain smile which looked at the whole world and yet found you to be the most important.

"I think my dad gave it to me," he said slowly, looking down at the sand dollar in a new light. "For my birthday, a while ago." It was a strange concept really, his images of his dad were far too few and far too vague. Only a few snips of dreams, a few ideas here or there. There were no pictures in his and his mom's small cramped apartment. As if the memory of him had been purposely wiped away.

Annabeth nodded, handing it back to Percy who wrapped it in a random sock lying on the floor—the spouse of which was probably lost, eaten by the washing machine of doom—and slipped it into his back pocket. He didn't remember ever bringing it with him.

"Let's go."

"Out the window?" He asked, glancing towards it. He was in no hurry to repeat last night.

"Not that window. Unlike yourself I actually think before trying to be Batman."

"I'll have you know I was in no way, shape, or form trying to be Batman." Annabeth quirked an eyebrow. "Now if you said I was trying to be Spiderman I'd have to agree with you."

"You're insufferable."

"I'm also a teenage New York boy who grew up spending what little money he could get his hands on buying Spiderman comics."

"I'm praying you got that money honestly," she whispered as they crept down the stairs. He didn't understand why they were even going that way, the door and windows were locked.

"Depends. Is taking money out of a fountain considered getting money honestly?" He asked, grinning. Annabeth whirled around, mouth agape. "Percy you didn't!"

"You ever try digging around in a sewer for money? Trust me you don't want to. The fountain was much cleaner."

"Do I even want to know how on earth you got into a sewer?" She had begun to work open one of the locked windows with a small knife, prying it open and then struggling a moment under the awkward weight before pulling it up all the way.

"I needed money and the city needed saving. I was that hero. Plus a friend of mine told me that Spiderman was in the sewer and needed help. Even I'll admit that I was a little naïve at such a tender age."

"A little naïve?" Annabeth turned bright red and started to laugh. Percy quickly put a hand over her mouth. "Shhh don't want to wake everyone up now do we?" He gave her a childish grin, pleased with himself for making her laugh, something that felt familiar and inviting.

"Stop doing stupid things," she countered, removing his hand from her mouth.

"I don't do stupid things. I do brilliant things but no one recognizes it as genius."

"Sure," she grunted, hoisting her bag out of the window and climbing out after it. Percy clambered out after her, struggling for a minute when his sling got caught on a stray hood. "You have a little tear here," she told him, fingering the ripped cloth.

"I'll live, let's go."

The two were nothing but shadows across the field, their movements rippling through the darkness in a synchronized streak.

Up the wall and over the gap, down the rope of sheets. Annabeth tugged it down with one hard yank. "We'll put them in the car." When they reached the van, Percy realized just how lucky they were that no one had used the van today. Thankfully Argos had been preoccupied with exploding shoes—an invention of the Stolls—to have to use one of the five vans.

Annabeth climbed into the driver's seat, glaring at him when he attempted to argue with her. "I am perfectly capable of driving a motorized vehicle."

"I'm glad that you have total confidence in your abilities but is it okay to say that I have almost zero?" He asked, buckling up and reaching upward to clutch the handle in the inside of the car.

"Thanks for the moral support," she grumbled, slamming her foot down on the gas. They lurched forward and Percy felt a sudden queasiness in his stomach flip and flop over and over again as they shot out of the parking lot.

"Pretty sure I'm going to throw up," he groaned, clutching his gut.

"Just do it out the window," Annabeth instructed, a determined look on her face as they sped out of the facility and down the open country road, with nothing but a wide open sky and shimmering stars for company.

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

Public restrooms were really quite awkward when you thought about it. Especially when you're trying to wake yourself up by splashing freezing cold water on your face but the homeless man with the ratty blond hair next to you has slumped over and fallen asleep against the wall.

And he smells. Bad.

Percy honestly didn't blame the guy. Instead he stopped the running water, dried his hands, and then helped lug the man out of the bathroom and onto a nearby bench.

"Is that your good deed for the day?" Annabeth asked, pushing herself up off the wall where she had been leaning, trying to experiment to see if a few seconds of shut eye could actually benefit one's exhausted self or if it only made everything more tiring.

"More like the night. It is two in the morning," Percy shrugged. "Come on let's go get tickets." The duo had ditched the van two miles back and walked all the way to the bus station. It was a measly building with broken light fixtures and a ceiling dusted with flies.

But it was actually an official bus station. After Auntie Em's they weren't going to take any more chances. Neither felt in the mood for becoming dog kibble.

The ticket booth was closed with a sign that informed them it would be open at five. "I guess we camp out here," Percy suggested.

"With Hobo Joe?" Annabeth asked, eyeing the sleeping figure a few feet off suspiciously. She ran her hand through her curls absentmindedly, fatigue settling over her usually vivid eyes.

"Don't hate on the man Wise Girl. He's probably got just as an incredible, unrealistic, extraordinary story to tell as we do. You can't judge by first impressions. I mean for all we know he could be Bill Gates deciding to dress down for a bit and see what life's like living by the edge of your seat."

"Pretty sure that's not Bill Gates Seaweed Brain."

"Work with me here Chase, I'm trying to speak metaphorically and you're just tearing me down. Just remember Batman. No one thought that Bruce Wayne was a superhero."

"Yeah but Bruce Wayne didn't have to sleep at a bus station. And don't you hate Batman? Didn't we just go over this?" Annabeth asked.

"Fine then Clark Kent I don't know. I think we're losing it."

"I'm positive you lost it a while ago Seaweed Brain." She heaved a heavy sigh and slumped over to an unhoboed bench, dropping her backpack onto her lap. She patted the seat next to her. "Well come on then, I'm not going to be the only one looking like a fool here."

"You're not, Hobo Joe will keep you good company," Percy grinned. "You hungry? There's a vending machine and I'm pretty sure I've got some random change in my bag. I could scrounge up a meal fit for kings."

"I don't care about a meal fit for kings, I just want a Snickers bar. And bad. You go do that. Just don't try the pennies. Vending machines don't seem to accept them anymore these days. Another reason why we should just get rid of them." She was dozing off, losing her train of thought. Percy watched as her sharp grey eyes spaced out for a moment, becoming unfocused on her surroundings. They fluttered for a moment and then closed as she slumped against the wall. "Just ten minutes," she yawned. "Ten minutes and I'll be fine."

Percy shook his head, smiling a little bit at her completely disheveled look and then hurried to the vending machines, keeping one eye on her just in case some metal dog came charging through the walls or something strange like that. Then again, lately strange wasn't so strange anymore.

He slid the coins into the machine and bought the snickers bar first. Then he got a bag of chips and a water bottle. Looking in hind sight, food would have been an excellent addition to his backpack instead of the dirty pair of socks but there really wasn't anything he could do now. Slouching down next to Annabeth on the seat, he kicked wrapped his arms around his backpack and then nudged her awake, waving the open Snickers bar in front of her in hopes of reviving her from the near zombie like state she had slipped into.

Annabeth said nothing as she bit into the candy bar and then moaned a little at the taste. "You know Annabeth," Percy grinned, "You're not you when you're hungry."

"Shut up," she muttered. "I don't know how you manage to stay so bloody cheerful all the time." She rested her head on his shoulder, tossing the empty candy wrapper towards a nearby garbage can which was already overflowing. Apparently the night shift janitor had forgotten to take it out. She missed.

"You know Annabeth, I wouldn't keep your hopes too high on going pro with a hook shot like that. It might be a little bit of a stretch. You might have to sit bench."

"Shut up Seaweed Brain," she repeated before closing her eyes. "You make a nice pillow." She absent mindedly patted his arm.

"That's good to know. If I fail at becoming Spider Man, I can always fall back on being a pillow." He brushed a strand of blonde hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"No, no you can't. Because you're my pillow. You can't be anyone else's," she muttered drowsily before slipping off into sleep. Percy smiled demurely at her.

"I wouldn't want to be anyone else's."

"You two should try an' be a lil' quite with your sob story romance over there." Percy nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard the hobo speak. He whipped his head around to see the man sitting up and staring at the two with a toothless grin. "It's makin' the fish gumbo I had earlier feel a lil' queasy in ma stomach."

_So that's what the smell was_ Percy thought to himself, studying the man. They must look pretty pathetic from the way he was grinning. "What're ya two doin' out here any who?" The man asked, rubbing his hands together in an effort to keep warm.

"It's a long story," Percy answered, shrugging his shoulders. He wished that the man would just bugger off and fall asleep already so then he could get a few hours of shut eye. "Full of lots of stuff you wouldn't believe."

"I got some time. I ain't goin' nowhere. Why don't ya try me?"

Percy glanced at Annabeth and her scrunched up nose before turning back to the man. "As much as I'd love to spend the next few hours reminiscing about life or death moments, I'm not sure I should share with you. Sorry."

"Oh I get it. Your momma must have taught ya well sonny. Don't talk to strangers. But I can assure ya, I ain't no stranger," the man told him. "In fact I know more about ya than ya probably know about yourself."

Percy felt an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach as he stared at the man and his greasy hair. "You do?" He said hesitantly, wrapping his arm around Annabeth's waist and drawing her closer to him… just in case.

"Course I do." He gave another toothless grin. "Ya don't ride the rails without learnin' a thing or two 'bout people. You're lost aren't you? No where to go. Ya thought the place that was your home were safe but it ain't anymore so ya got to run.

"And ya run and run but ya keep findin' there ain't anywhere else to run to. Because sooner or later, ya run out of track. Ya run out of road. Ya run out of ground. And then ya got to turn yourself around and look at what ya running from and ya got to face it. I've been runnin' for years now. And I ain't no closer to facin' what I'm runnin' from than when I started. And some men—men who think they got it all figured out 'cause they smart and they rich—might call me a coward. But one day, I'll run out of rails to ride on and then I'll face my fear."

Percy studied the man. His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "But you're a fighter. Ya and yer girl. I can tell. Maybe ya won't run for as long as I've been runnin'. Maybe those men won't call ya a coward. But if they do, don't let it git to ya. 'Cause sometimes runnin' is braver than fightin'. All us are itchin' to fight, we got a fire burnin' in our souls. Sometimes we gotta run. You remember that sonny. Ya brave."

The man stood up and walked over to pat Percy on the head. "You take care of her do you hear me?" He said, nodding towards Annabeth. "She's a special one and you're lucky to have her." He placed something in Percy's hands and then turned to leave.

"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends Percy." And then he walked out of the train station.

Percy stared at the exit where he had just walked out of and then looked down at his lap. The man had dropped a decent sized envelope. Gently he broke the seal and gaped at the inside. A couple Benjamin Franklins fell out onto his lap. "Darn," he whispered to himself before pocketing the money and drifting off into sleep.

Maybe it was true, you are never completely without friends.

But you're never without enemies either.

"_You know smoking kills." Parker looked up from his cigarette at the pretty blonde standing in front of him with her ripped up jeans and AC/DC shirt, her hair pulled up in a wild ponytail. _

_ "So does breathing. And playing sports. And walking across the street. Everyone's gonna die eventually. Might as well enjoy life," he shrugged, leaning against his bike._

_ "I don't know if that's a pessimistic look on life or a slightly optimistic look," she grinned, swinging herself up onto the seat of his bike and leaning against his shoulder._

_ "I'm just a realist babe," he said, breathing out a steady stream of smoke. _

_ "A realist who will most likely get lung cancer," Ayla said, plucking the cigarette out of his hand and kissing his cheek._

_ "You know that's all lies Ay. People have been smoking for centuries and somehow the human population has lived on. I don't think one cigarette is going to kill me." He shrugged on his leather jacket from where he had slung it over the front of his motorcycle. Ayla trailed her fingers over his shoulders._

_ "Dad says that I've got to stop hanging around with you," she told him. _

_ "He thinks I'm going to corrupt his precious daughter right?" He grinned._

_ "Something like that," she shrugged. _

_ "Well it's a little too late then." He leaned over and kissed her. _

_ The boardwalk was ablaze with life that night. The vibrant colors of attractions, the seductive call of the lights, the mouthwatering smells of the different food stalls rushed around them, swirling around the dark night. Parker could still remember when he first say Ayla on the boardwalk with her preppy clothes and straight hair which fell down to the middle of her back. She was with her boyfriend. He smirked while he kissed her, remembering the stuck up rich boy whom Ayla had left for him._

_ It didn't take much, a ride of his motorcycle—a Triumph of course—a few drinks and the constant thought that he somehow knew her from somewhere and then the rest became history. The two had been inseparable for the month she had been there. Ayla was on summer vacation and her family was spending the three months at the boardwalk. _

_ But Parker believed that what they had was going to last far longer than just a summer. Hell he'd even follow her all the way from sunny California to grumpy Seattle with its yearlong rainy season._

_ "There's a concert down at the beach," Parker told her as they broke away from the kiss. Ayla thought he tasted like cigarettes and alcohol, death and life all wrapped into one broken yet beautiful man. _

_ "What are they playing?" She asked, slightly out of breath. Damn he always did that to her._

_ "A bunch of Journey songs," he laughed at the grimace on her face. "I knew I picked a girl with good taste." That was the reason he had connected with her. Behind her nice skirts and ironed shirts, Parker had seen her wild rebellious side when he had caught her in the music shop looking at some music. A girl like her should like classical music or some crap like that but instead she was all for Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, and AC/DC. Sure her music tastes were all over the place at times but at least she liked good music._

_ And she didn't like Journey so that was a plus._

_ "But I figure it'll be a party and you know how I like parties," Parker gave her an award winning smile. _

_ "You just like the alcohol which comes with it. You know if I wanted to make a living, I'd set up a gas station here and sell a bunch of beer and I would be a millionaire."_

_ "You're too smart to work at a gas station my future architect," he grinned. "And of course too smart to just stay at home with the kids." That was another thing about Ayla. She was wildly independent and a feminist. Parker could care less about her hour long rants about women's rights other than the fact that her grey eyes grew even more wild with excitement. _

_ "Let's go Bad Boy," Ayla said as he climbed onto his bike. She wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned against the black leather, running one hand through his long brown hair. "Don't ever cut your hair," she muttered drowsily._

_ "But if I don't cut my hair then mommy and daddy dearest will never approve of me," he teased her as he started the engine._

_ "I don't care. I stopped caring a long time ago."_

_ "I know." She squeezed tightly as he zoomed down the street, dodging and weaving between clusters of people, letting out loud woops and hollers. He flew down a flight of stairs and raced between some bon fires which some wanna be surfers—man those guys were annoying, they had no talent whatsoever in the water—and towards the stage which had been set up for traveling bands to perform on every Friday and Saturday night. The guy currently on the stage was wearing no shirt and playing a saxophone. Parker cringed at the sight._

_ He stopped his bike and they sat there, listening to the screeching music which didn't sound the least bit like Journey. "It's awful isn't it?" Ayla said, leaning forwards and placing her chin on his shoulder. He swatted a flyaway beach ball away._

_ "Exceptionally awful," he agreed. Ayla laughed, kissing his cheek. "So what time is curfew?" He asked. _

_ "Eleven. Dad thinks I'm stopping at the movie rental shop so we need to make a quick detour there first." _

_ "Not the comic book shop like last time?" He grinned. Ayla made a face. The last time she had made an excuse to leave the rental house her dad and step mother had gotten it was to visit the comic book shop which was only open at night. _

_ A lie of course but Mr. and Mrs. Caldecott weren't the sort who frequented comic book stores so they wouldn't know. Parker still didn't understand why the Caldecott family had decided to spend a summer at the boardwalk. Ayla's dad was a prestigious professor at Columbia and her mother was the stereotypical mother figure with the prim hair and a bar of soap in her pocket for if her twin sons ever brought home some too colorful language. They didn't seem like the sort to spend a summer in a place filled with lights, alcohol, and loud noises. Not that he was complaining of course. They brought Ayla and Ayla had quickly become not only his girlfriend but his best friend as well. _

_ "Let's go Park," she said. "I hate Journey as it is but these guys make Journey look like Guns N' Roses." _

_ "Your wish is my command." The two flew down the beach and back up onto the boardwalk. _

_ The movie store was always surprisingly busy for such a random shop on the strip of stores nearest the boardwalk. It was run by a tall man with glasses and a demon like dog that gave Parker the chills. He grabbed Ayla's hand in his gloved one and swung it a little as they walked in, the little bell above the door going off as they entered._

_ The man behind the counter smiled at Ayla and gave Parker a glare. Figures. Everyone loved Ayla. No one understood how such a smart, pretty girl could fall for a boy like Parker. And sometimes Parker didn't understand it either. But it felt as if they were meant to be together, as if they were destined if you believed in that sort of crap which Parker didn't know if he did or didn't. _

_ "What movie are you looking for?" Parker asked as she began searching the racks of movies. "Something good like Nightmare of Elm Street?" Ayla made a face._

_ "Parker I know that you hate horror movies so you don't need to act all tough like you do," she teased him. "You're more of a Starwars or Indiana Jones sort of guy. No matter how many times you try to deny it, I know you. You secretly like being the hero."_

_ She bent down, running her fingers along the titles of the different movies. "Here it is!" She said triumphantly, pulling out the movie she wanted. _

_ "Oh gods," Parker moaned. "Not that movie again!" _

_ "Oh hush," she grinned, bringing it to the front counter and sliding it across for check out. "You know that it's my favorite."_

_ "I don't get why! It's about some bratty teenage girl who hates her little brother and then decides that she wants her little brother once he gets taken from her. There's not much point to it." _

_ "It's a fairytale. It's fantastic. I'll admit that the acting might be a little weak and there are some… laughable parts but it's all about the story. I'm a sucker for movies with good stories." _

_ "There's too much glitter in it for my taste. Give me Starwars any day." _

_ "Of course there is," Ayla said, rolling her eyes and passing a few bills over to the man behind the counter. It still made her laugh whenever she thought about Parker in all of his leather sitting in a movie theater getting excited over a movie which all of the geeks in her class freaked out about. She shook her head at the image. "Let's go Han Solo." She tucked her own movie into her bag and then grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the store before the owner's dog started biting Parker again._

_ "You know I love you right Ayla?" Parker asked as they climbed onto his bike._

_ "Of course I do Parker," she said, squeezing his stomach as she settled down behind him. "Now can we go for a ride before I have to get home?"_

_ Parker smirked. "You asked for it love."_

_ The two roared down the streets, flying through the dark night with the stars shimmering up above. Parker Jameson had never felt so free as when he was riding on his Triumph with Ayla behind him. There was something about the wind in your face, the sheer panic yet exhausting emotion you felt course through your veins when you drove fast. Your blood felt hot and pounded against your cheeks. Adrenaline became your best friend. _

_ He was going so fast that he never saw the car._

_ Those who later recounted the accident would say that it was as if the car came out of no where. One moment it was there, the next it was speeding away._

_ A hit and run._

_ A drunk driver the officers ruled it since it had been swerving in and out of the traffic lines. _

_ Fatal._

_ One of the witnesses, too high to be considered reliable, would say that the car was purposely trying to hit the two on the motorcycle. One gruff old man would say that it was the teenagers' faults for driving the metal death contraption._

_ The odd thing was that when those who witnessed the accident ran over to check if the two were alright—deep down they knew that they wouldn't be but still the polite thing to do was to check—they were startled to see the two lovers lying next to each other._

_ What they didn't know was that moments before the car crash, Ayla Caldecott and Parker Jameson remembered._

_ They didn't know if it was in a blink of an eye or in a complete eternity but they somehow remembered. Remembered the years, the lives, the always changing personalities but the never changing grey and green eyes. The kisses, the moments wrapped up together. _

_ Infinity in nothing._

_ Right before the car crashed Parker closed let go of the handles and wrapped his hands around Ayla's._

_ "It's only for forever, not long at all." _

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

The Greyhound took them to New York City. Coming back to the city after a few months of living in the woods with a bunch of teenager—okay so they at least had clean bathrooms and decent beds so it wasn't technically living _in_ the woods—was strange. He found himself staring at every McDonalds, ever kid in the back of a taxi cab, every hot dog stand.

The lights seemed a little too bright, the voices of people a little too loud. "Where to first Wise Girl?" Percy asked, hitching his backpack up his back farther.

"There's an office here. We can take the subway there, scope around the area, figure something out. Ask some questions."

"Won't they know who we are?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm pretty sure that the lady at the front desk of P.A.I.L will know who Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson are. I could be wrong—but I hardly ever am. We're going straight into the vipers' nest."

"You don't have to sound so cheerful about it," Percy muttered, rolling his neck to try and get the aching feeling out of it.

"Doesn't your mom live in New York?" Annabeth asked as Percy began to lead the way towards the nearest subway entrance.

"Yeah but I'd prefer to not get my mother involved in any of this crazy stuff," Percy warned her. That was one area of his life he didn't want anyone to get involved with. His mother was the most amazing woman he knew—next to Annabeth of course—and he would do anything to make sure that she was always safe.

"I'm just wondering. You know as a Plan Z or something."

"How about a plan never? Like I said, I don't' want my mom to know I'm here. I don't want her to worry." Annabeth smiled at him and shook her head a little. "What?" He asked.

"How protective of your mom you are. I wish I was that close with my dad." Percy felt an ache in his stomach as they rode down the escalator that led to old, dirty subway station (which probably had a few infectious disease carrying rats in it the size of small children).

The duo was silent as they paid for Annabeth's ticket. Percy pulled his out from his wallet and they hopped on the train, holding on to the rails. "You sure about this?" He finally asked.

Annabeth looked ahead determinedly. "As ready as I'll ever be."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Finding an old evil Santa Claus wielding a SEND PAIL TO JAIL sign was really a gift from the gods.

They found him sitting outside of a Starbucks with the empty cups of two of the largest size coffees available littering the ground. He looked about a million years old and was passed out in one of the only splotches of sunlight, his sign hanging limply to one side. He wore pajamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that probably used to be white. He was fat—very fat—with a white beard that had turned yellow, kinda like Santa Claus, if Santa had been rolled out of bed and dragged through a landfill of course.

His smell could rival a sewer plant and it was no wonder that everyone in the general vicinity of the man turned with wrinkled noses and walked away.

Percy would do the same if it wasn't for a determined Annabeth dragging him towards the grumpy old man. He had seen people like this before all the time in New York. His mom had drilled it into his mind that while he shouldn't disrespect them (after all they had their own stories too) they were probably the sort of people he should not stop to chat up a storm with.

In other words: better safe than sorry.

But the fact that his sign had the word P.A.I.L emblazoned across the front seemed too coincidental for Annabeth to pass up.

"Excuse me sir," Annabeth started as she took a step towards the sun tanning Santa, her hand shielding her eyes. The man cracked an eyeball and Percy took a safety step back (it was like when you went to the movies and always left a bumper seat between you and the next person, all for courtesy's sake of course).

"Eh?" The man asked, his one open eye roving around to catch a sight of the person who would dare to talk to him.

"I couldn't help but notice your sign," Annabeth said as politely as she could while trying not to gag at the dead fish smell dancing through the air.

"My sign?" Evil Santa Twin asked, his already thousand year old wrinkled brow wrinkling even further.

"Yes your sign," she said, pointing to it. "We had some questions about the business establishment you mention on it: P.A.I.L."

"Questions? What sorta questions? I don't take no random high flying questions. I only take questions from people who are serious. Who want to know the truth. Truth comes at a price and you've got to be willing to hold onto that price. Can you catch the truth and hold onto it?"

Percy quirked an eyebrow towards Annabeth and shrugged at the guy, sending mental telepathy towards her saying _Is this guy for real? _Annabeth merely glared at him and turned back to Santa (Seriously if the guy wanted a day job he could be one of those guys who filled in for Santa at the Macey's stores. He was creepy enough already.)

Annabeth studied the man with her intelligent grey eyes before letting out a startled gasp. "Di Immortals!" She exclaimed. "You're Nereus, that tabloid writer!"

The man—Nereus if Annabeth was correct which she probably was—grunted and sat up, rubbing his plump stomach as he opened the other eye, acknowledging Annabeth as someone good enough to be gifted with his glorious information. "What's it to you girlie?" He grunted again as if he were a cave dweller who had just stepped out into the sun after years hidden in the back of a cave making those strange, garbled sounds which were supposed to resemble words.

"It's just that I've read your stories and they're amazing! Incredibly factual too! I don't think that you've ever told one lie! I don't get why you're not writing for something even more important that _Tales from Small Town Thug_. Your work is pure literary genius! Like Pulitzer Prize worthy!"

Percy watched her in amusement. It was as if there was some switch which someone had turned on and Annabeth had gone from a serious student who believed true literary genius was Homer and Shakespeare and Plath to someone who could easily have been in a crowd of hormonal teenage girls screaming over some foreign dude with an attractive accent, nice hair, and sometimes questionable singing ability.

Only—with a quick glance at the street—it was obvious to see that there was no sign of an attractive male—besides Percy of course—only a fat Santa wannabe.

"You read my column?" The man asked, now believing Annabeth worthy enough to earn a full sitting position. Which must have been pretty hard for him, he had looked so comfortable in his sun tanning position.

"Of course! It's only like my most favoritest thing ever!" Nereus didn't notice the slight flinch Annabeth made as she said the last sentence but Percy did. Ungrammatically correct grammar was a heinous crime in Annabeth's book of _Laws to Make the World Go Round_. Right up there with always brush your teeth three times a day and read the all the works of Euripides once a year. "Your hard hitting behind the scenes look on why we should never drink Starbucks again was super riveting!"

Nereus turned red as he brushed his cups of coffee to the side, chuckling nervously. "Yes of course, can't support Big Business and all, especially ones which employ the use of aliens from different planets."

Percy was pretty sure that this man needed a trip to a loony bin… with a ticket to stay for forever. How _he_ had gotten sent to Goode and yet this man had somehow been skipped over in the days of his youth was a mystery that he would never solve.

"Are you doing research on PAIL?" Annabeth asked, clapping her hands together. "I heard they've been dabbling in unethical experiments."

"Well I don't know about unethical but it certainly is a crime against humanity." Nereus looked around and then leaned in closer to the duo. "Can't be too certain. You never know when the government might be tapping into their unlimited resources.

"Did you know that they come into your house when you're away and put wires in all of your electronics: computers, phones, microwaves, frozen yogurt machines even. And they take stuff. All those little things you find missing? It's the government."

"So that's who took my socks. I was almost certain I had a house elf living in my apartment," Percy joked. Annabeth shot him a dirty look and he raised his hands in surrender.

"It's not a joke. Oh no no no, not a joke at all," Nereus said, shaking his head. "The government is run by witchcraft. Look, look here." He held out his hand which held a large reddish black splotch which was swelling. "The doctor tried to tell me it's some health problem but I knew better. I took it to a specialist a friend of mine knows and he said it was a witch bite!"

"Looks like it could be cancerous," Percy muttered to himself.

"That's what they all say," the man glared at him and Annabeth elbowed him none too kindly in the ribs. "But I know better. The only problem is that no one goes to the government about it."

"Why would we go to the government about it being corrupt?"

The man completely ignored him. _Rude_ Percy thought to himself. "We have to go in a group. You have to get your friends together and just storm into one of those Senate meetings. That way they can't single you out. They single you out and you'll never be seen again. They send you to the gods forsaken land of Alaska or Siberia."

"Siberia isn't even in the US… geez even I know that."

Annabeth cleared her throat and shook her head, trying to get this conversation back in control before either Percy or Nereus jumped at each other and dragged each other to the docks and flung themselves into the water. "Of course. But what can you tell us about PAIL?"

"PAIL? Well it's an ancient group of people, probably as old as those Egyptian Magicians that go around with all their hocus pocus and try to stop giant snakes from eating up the world. From what I've gained from my sources—which are pretty reliable I must add—PAIL is dedicated to ridding the world of all unnatural anomalies. They have this way—I don't know how or what it is—but they track down all these people or animals or plants or anything that isn't how they believe the world should have been 'created.' Anything that's evolving too fast for their liking. And then they take them, round them up and don't tell them what's wrong, and they experiment on them."

Annabeth sucked in a breath and Percy felt a little bit faint. "Hypocrites really if you ask me. They claim to hate these 'flaws in the system' as they call them and yet at the same time they try to harness the abilities. Messed around with quite a few babies, some new born animals. That sort of thing."

"Do you know where we could possibly find them?" Percy asked.

Nereus raised an eyebrow. "You're not from around here are you? It's hard to miss their building." He gave them the address and then tugged at his beard. "Just… if anyone asks. You didn't hear it from me. I ain't going to jail for a couple of teenagers, no matter how lovely they are." He winked at Annabeth.

_Great not only a conspiracy theorist but also a pervert_ Percy glowered at the man. "I'm sure you won't get into any trouble for having some… more than original ideas."

Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand, lacing her fingers in his. "Thanks for the directions."

"Wait! Before you go! Do you know how to get a hold of Wiki Leaks?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's it, we're out of here," Percy growled, starting down the street and dragging Annabeth along with him. The duo dodged past oncoming traffic as they headed deeper into the heart of New York.

"Well he was nice," Annabeth commented cheerily, brushing her hair back from her face.

"If you define nice as being deranged and slightly perverted then yes… I guess he was."

**AthousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

When he was younger, Percy Jackson had an acute sixth sense. He could tell whenever trouble was going to happen before he walked into the classroom. He knew which days he should fake getting some awful illness like malaria (you could get that in New York City right?) so that he wouldn't have to take that pop quiz in English class on Huck Finn and which days he should forge a doctor's note saying that he had broken his nose while fighting a shark and therefore could not play dodgeball in gym class. The sense had never once failed him. Once it had gotten him an extra weekend to cram for a report he was supposed to have finished three weeks ago on Alexander Hamilton.

And as he grew up that sense seemed to slip back into a dormant mode, but it was still there. It would throw itself forward every now and then—like when Clarisse had tried to drown him in the toilets or when maniacal mechanical demon dogs from hell had been chasing him and Annabeth. Suddenly it was alive and kicking, thriving. It was a rush of energy surging through his body and waking him up. It was like he was on a double shot of espresso (coffee and Percy Jackson did not mix well. The last time he had coffee he ended up staying awake until only the gods know when bouncing off the walls.)

His sixth sense was kicking in the moment he stepped into P.A.I.L's headquarters. It was a towering building, the type that seemed to shout "HEY! Look at me I'm a bigger, better building than you are!"in that high and mighty, lofty voice of whatever a building sounded like to all of those little buildings it dwarfed.

Percy understood that even buildings could be bullies.

While Annabeth strolled confidently towards the front desk where a woman dressed in a pencil skirt and a shirt which looked as if it had been ironed one too many times—how someone could be comfortable in shoes that tall Percy would never understand—sat clicking away at her keyboard as if she was an automaton herself, Percy lurked behind. He saw the small cameras moving in the corners of the large atrium (and the one behind the nice "relaxing" waterfall) out of the corner of his eye but decided it might look a little too obvious if he hid behind one of those large fake plants—or were those real? He eyed them critically.

He never really trusted fake plants. Or real plants growing in a fake place.

"Hi!" Annabeth said animatedly to the woman—Gladys according to her name plate (unfortunate name really, what were her parents thinking?)—who continued to click clack away on her keyboard, her eyes looking up to give Annabeth the once over before looking back now with a wrinkled nose.

Once a girl, always a girl, Percy supposed. He hurried over to stand by Annabeth's side, trying to copy her image of calm and collected awareness.

"Welcome to the PAIL Company. You are currently standing in the center of the building's bottom atrium. The PAIL building is actually built using the Ancient Greek concept of the golden rectangle which if you don't know is—"

"A rectangle whose side lengths are in the golden ration which is demonstrated by the Greek letter phi, approximately 1.618," Annabeth finished, drumming her fingers on the desk. This got the lady's—Gladys' pardon—attention. Percy couldn't help but smirk.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She asked in a cool voice, her eyes narrowing at the sight of them. They must look a mess with their bus-station-slept-in clothes and Annabeth's hair wasn't in the most tame of braids. Percy understood the look in Gladys' eyes it was one of "I am so judging you." He had been incredibly familiar with that look since he was younger.

"Yeah actually! For my school project I had to choose a business in NYC and go and shadow there! I was wondering if there are any tours available. I chose PAIL because I want to be an architect and I love the buildings you guys designed," Annabeth exclaimed animatedly, her hands moving fast as she gestured towards the atrium.

The woman studied Annabeth as if seeing her for the first time, taking in her crazy appearance. "Sorry I look so bad, we had to run here because the subway was down and I wanted to get here as soon as possible before all of the other kids did. Our high school is _so _big! I wouldn't be surprised if you get a few students who want to write about this building." Percy had never seen Annabeth act this engaging before. No wonder she was such a teacher's pet. All she had to do was turn on one of those wildly bright smiles (which were super rare) and they would be eating out of the palm of her hand.

"And what school do you go to?" The woman asked. Annabeth faltered a little.

"Meriwether College Prep," Percy supplied. It was the school he went to back in seventh grade—the one with the awful gym coach who figured that the best way to sort the "good" kids from the "bad" kids is by having them play dodgeball and whoever would survive was "good"—and he was pretty sure that it went up to twelfth grade… or maybe that was his eighth grade school…

"Yeah. We're both juniors. He's only here because I dragged him along. He thinks that a good business is a skateboard shop or that candy shop in Grand Central Station. He doesn't understand that PAIL is the best of the best."

Percy glared a little at Annabeth. She didn't have to make him sound dumb. He knew that he might not be as smart with books as Annabeth but that didn't mean that he was dumb.

The lady—Gladys—gave a smug, superior smirk in Percy's direction. He glowered at her. "Of course PAIL is the best. We are the best of the best. I'll see if I can get you a tour. Come back tomorrow and I'll see what I can do. I think I might be able to squeeze one in tomorrow afternoon."

"That would be perfect!" Annabeth squealed (Percy had no desire to hear that sound again. Annabeth squealing… well you could tell she didn't do it much which he was of course thankful for. He didn't need a squealing girlfriend… pigs squeal not girls).

"And you can come too," the lady—Gladys- nodded towards Percy. "You can see why PAIL far outranks any _candy shop_."

"Well I bet you guys don't have any blue sour gummyworms so you're going to have your work cut out for you," Percy tossed back, turning on his heels and storming out of the building… or at least trying to storm out.

His backpack got caught in the revolving door.

"Don't mind him. He's just mad because he failed his Pre-Calculus test," Annabeth said apologetically before hurrying over to help Percy un-pry his backpack from between the doors under the watchful eyes of the snickering Gladys.

"I don't need your help," Percy hissed, yanking his backpack from out of the grasp of the metal terrors.

"Whoa what's up with you Seaweed Brain?" She asked as they tumbled out into the muggy air of New York City.

"You didn't have to make me sound so dumb," Percy growled. "I'm not stupid you know." Annabeth stared at him in shock, her stormy eyes widening a little bit.

"I didn't mean to…" she hesistated.

"Just forget it," he grumbled, storming down the street, hugging his backpack to his side with one arm, fighting his way through the crowd.

"Percy the subway is the other way!" Annabeth called back to him from where she stood uncertain on the street.

"No it's not!" He yelled over his shoulder. "I'm not stupid about this!" Annabeth looked after him warily before jogging down the sidewalk towards him. Percy continued his furious path towards the subway entrance, fuming.

He wasn't stupid. He wasn't. Yes he might have trouble reading and sitting still in class; he might not like listening to lectures about the Ancient Greeks or Romans but just because he didn't like school didn't mean that he was stupid.

As far as he was concerned there were two types of people in the world as far as learning came: the type who liked books and the type who liked experience. Percy couldn't recite the digits of Pi to the thirtieth value like Annabeth probably could but he knew that if you got stuck in the trunk of a moving car then you knock out the taillight.

Genius couldn't be judged on how many books you read but how you used your brains. Genius is about resourcefulness, ingenuity, quick thinking, not about if you'd read the dictionary ten times.

Percy was smart.

People just didn't think he was because he wasn't conventionally smart.

Didn't mean that he wasn't.

He was.

He just wished people would actually understand that.

"Percy wait!" Annabeth called, reaching out and grabbing his arm. "Percy look I'm sorry," she began but Percy shrugged off her arm.

"Look Annabeth I don't want to talk about it right now. We've got to find a place to hunker down for the night." He kept his eyes ahead, taking in the increasingly familiar seen. This was his home, where he grew up, he knew the streets of New York like the back of his hand.

Annabeth stayed behind him silently, letting him take the lead. She was nervously chewing on the bottom of her lip,

He led them to a fancy apartment building with a man in red out front. The inside was incredibly swanky with ornate furniture and men and women lounging around in clothes which were so expensive they probably had insurance for them. Annabeth stood there awkwardly, feeling out of place in her ragged jeans and ratty hair.

"I'll be right back," he said but before he could stroll away Annabeth grabbed his arm.

"Percy where the heck are we?" She whispered. "There's no way we could stay here. We should leave before someone kicks us out or something."

"And then where would you suggest us going to? The subway? Oh great plan we could sleep with the rats and the cockroaches! I'm sure they're just dying to be best friends with us. What about the spiders? I'm positive you would just love them," he bit back sarcastically. Annabeth looked down at her feet, shuffling nervously. Percy automatically wished that he could take back his words. _Good going man, look what you've done_. "Look Annabeth it's not your fault, I'm just tired. Trust me, this is going to work. I've got a friend who we can camp out with while we're here."

"Okay, whatever you say Seaweed Brain but if this doesn't work I was planning on having you stay up all night and protect me from the ghastly beasties."

Percy gave her a small smile and then headed over to the main desk. A few minutes later he strolled back over to Annabeth, a grin on his face. "We're all set for the night and however many nights we need."

"Really?" Annabeth asked as they headed to the elevator.

"Yeah. My friend was more than willing to take us in." He punched the top button and the doors closed.

"Your friend lives in the penthouse?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah." The elevator stopped and a voice crackled over the intercom system. "Hello?" Annabeth couldn't discern the gender of the voice and stared at it suspiciously.

"Hey it's me buzz us in will you?"

"Will do!" The cheerful voice replied. There was a strange sound, like wind rushing through chimes but ending with a loud crash on an organ—"Yeah I know," Percy said to Annabeth's look—and then the elevator doors opened.

The two stepped inside the large ornate front room with sweeping floor to ceiling windows. "Thalia would most definitely not like this," Annabeth muttered.

Percy dropped his backpack on the floor and spun around before yelling, "RED we're here!" Annabeth's brow furrowed. Red? Who had the unfortunate pleasure of having their parents name them that?

"Percy!" A voice squealed and all Annabeth saw was… literally red.

In more ways than one as the girl flung herself onto _her_—Annabeth's mind you!—boyfriend.

"RED meet my girlfriend Annabeth, Annabeth meet my friend RED," Percy said, sweeping his hand back and forth between the two in order to make the proper introductions.

"RED?" Annabeth asked.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," the girl—RED—said, beaming at her. "It's so nice to meet you."

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

Percy felt as if he had just started World War III.

From the way Annabeth was glaring at Rachel as she animatedly led them on a tour throughout her family's penthouse apartment—"Have you been to the Met yet? The art there is so fantastic." "No we haven't had the time."—and showed them each a room to stay in—"Unless of course you would like to stay together" *insert suggestive wink here* – and then asked them if they were hungry, Percy was pretty sure he might want to start planning a bomb shelter.

And fast.

"You have a lovely home," Annabeth commented through her gritted teeth. But Percy could tell that she honestly admired the architecture of the place, the smooth curves, the straight lines, the way everything seemed to fall into perfect organization. He groaned slightly to himself as he anticipated Rachel's reply.

"Oh really? You think so? I absolutely hate it." Annabeth's eyebrows shot sky high. "There's no personality whatsoever and no color. If Dad would let me I'd completely repaint the thing."

"Where is your dad now Rache?" He asked, trying to steer the conversation into friendly waters.

"Oh I don't know. I tend to lose track of him every now and then," she commented, waving her hand in the air.

"Just like you tend to lose track of your mind?" Annabeth grumbled. This time it was Percy's turn to glare. Rachel merely stopped, turned, and stared at her, her eyes glinting dangerously.

"So you and Percy met at school. The school for 'special' kids isn't that right?" Her tone was still light and airy but at the same time, Percy detected the cool, hardness underneath.

"Goode Academy, that's right," Annabeth said, not letting the silent jab get to her. She straightened her back and tossed her princess curls over one shoulder. "I was head in my class, even taking some more advanced classes so that when I left I could be accepted into Cornell for their architecture program."

"And we love the fact that you're a perfect know it all," Percy said, once again interrupting the conversation to head toward safer, calmer waters. "What was that about food RED?"

"Oh of course! You guys must be starving. Come into the kitchen, I'm sure I can find something to eat."

Percy knew that Rachel's kitchen was the gold mine of gold mines when it came to food. He would be the first to honestly admit that the only reason he had wanted to be friend with the strange girl who liked to paint on herself in the first place was because her family had its own private chef and baker.

Food was never sparse in the Dare household.

"I've got some cookies Percy," Rachel said, opening the large walk in pantry—much better than any walk in closet if you wanted his opinion—and pulling out a Tupperware container of cookies. Before she could even crack open the lid, Percy was there, grabbing them from her pale, freckled hands and inhaling the goodness.

"Oh gods Annabeth you have to try these. It's basically food from the gods." He waved one of them around in front of her face.

"Percy I'm not that big of a fan of—" She didn't finish her sentence because Percy put half of the cookie in her mouth.

"Eat the cookie Annabeth," he ordered as he popped the other half in his own mouth. "Oh gods Rachel, I've missed Betty's cooking."

Annabeth finished her own cookie and mumbled her agreement. "It was pretty good… I guess."

"That's Annabeth's way of trying to tell you that it was one of the best things she's ever had in her life," Percy translated, grinning as he flung his arm over Annabeth's shoulder. "She just doesn't say thank you enough."

"You've got chocolate on your face Percy," she said, "Right here." She licked her thumb and then reached up to wipe away the smear of chocolate on the corner of his mouth. He felt the heat rising from the collar of his shirt at his touch and was pleased to note Annabeth was equally as red. "Sorry," she muttered.

He stared down at her—well as much as he could stare down at her which wasn't a lot due to the fact that she was only a few inches shorter than her.

What had he done in another life to deserve her?

Well… other than the whole dying thing of course.

That was only minor.

"So I was thinking we could order pizza," Rachel awkwardly interrupted as the couple quickly broke their heated gazes to look at her.

"Sounds good to me. Meat Lovers for me," Percy said. "What about you Wise Girl?"

"Extra cheese and olives please."

"Great! It'll be a party!" Rachel said, clapping her hands.

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"So I thought you couldn't come back once school started? That the doctors didn't think it would be good for you," Rachel said as the trio sat at the large dining room table. She licked the alfredo sauce she had ordered on her third of the pizza off of her fingers before scooping up a mushroom and plopping it in her mouth.

"Well the doctors are a bunch of baloney," Percy said, draining the last of his soda—which sadly was not blue. "Basically the whole school is a bunch of crap and is hijacked by a secretive organization that's out to take over the world."

"Percy!" Annabeth groaned. "You can't just go spilling our secrets to the general public."

"What? If I can't trust Rachel—who I've been friends with for so long that I'm pretty sure we ate paste together in elementary school—then there's really no one I can trust." He looked at her stormy eyes. "Besides you of course," he amended.

"Even if I was to go and start a blog to sell all of your secrets to the government, it's not like anyone would believe me. I don't necessarily have the best track record with appearing to be normal," Rachel shrugged, letting out a small belch as if to prove her point. Annabeth studied her critically. "So what are you doing in New York then?"

"We need to find out more of what we're up against," Percy said. "So far we know that they have metal demon dogs, crazy women who like to hunt people, strange doctors in underground labs, and a school filled with kids who have been diagnosed as mentally insane."

"Are they all really mentally insane?" Rachel asked.

"Well one of my best friends thinks that he's king of the dead and the other one thinks he was raised by a goat…"

"Sounds a lot like the people I see on the streets on my way to school every day. Maybe they could join your school."

"It doesn't work like that," Annabeth said. "You have to be _special_."

"Oh I know about _special_. Percy over here is a pretty good example of special. Did you know that one time when we took a trip to the aquarium he 'accidentally' hit the lever to send us all swimming with the sharks? Or the fact that he has strange dreams about this chick that he tended to draw in his notebook—mind you his artistic abilities are severely lacking—just because he was convinced he was in love with her. He even had me draw her picture once while he described her.

"I still remember what he said: hair like golden rays and these crazy intense eyes which…" she trailed off and stared at Annabeth, her green eyes growing wider and wider with each moment as she seemed to put 2+2 together and get Percabeth. "Oh my word… you're her! You're the girl Percy had a crush on." She stood up abruptly from her chair, so fast that she knocked it over. "I can't… I don't… What the hell?"

"Pretty much exactly my reaction. Only she tried to kill me a few times when we first met," Percy said.

Rachel shook her head. "And my dad thinks that _I'm _the crazy one."

Annabeth looked up from her pizza, her gaze sympathetic. "Your dad thinks the same thing too huh?"

"Just because I'd rather paint a forest then tear it down to build a building." Rachel shrugged again and sat back down in her chair, taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. "So what are you guys? Like the X-Men or something?"

"Something like that," Percy muttered.

"We're trying to find out information on a certain business. It's called PAIL. Or at least that's what we think it's called. Their main office is here. At least that's was Nereus told us."

"That old homeless guy that sits by that Starbucks all the time?" She asked. Annabeth nodded. "Love that guy. Always has the best stories to tell. As for PAIL… the name sounds familiar. I think I have something that might be able to help you. I'll be right back." She stood up and disappeared around the corner.

"She's something special," Annabeth whispered to Percy.

"I know. She's great right?"

"Great wasn't necessarily the word I was using to describe her."

"Look if this is because you're jealous or something, don't worry. I'm crazy about you Wise Girl, crazy enough to die for you… multiple times. You don't need to be worried about RED stealing me away or anything, because I already told you: I'm not going anywhere. Not this time. Not ever. You're stuck with me." He laced his hand in hers, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"If you guys are done, I think I found something interesting that might help," Rachel called as she walked back into the room, her nose buried in a pile of papers. "My dad is a land developer and it looks like he actually got called in a couple weeks ago to work on this site in Northern New York. It's to clear this land and make room for a top of the line science lab for—get this—PAIL Inc. Which really doesn't make sense since here PAIL means: Perfection Architecture in London. Which really doesn't make sense since New York isn't London…"

She dropped the folder down on the table for Percy and Annabeth to look at. "Sounds pretty strange to me."

"I think that PAIL means Probably An Illegal Load of Crap," Percy said, looking at one of the sheets of paper.

"That doesn't even make sense," Annabeth said, shaking her head and looking up.

"I know. And it's perfect because we'd never think of it."

"So tomorrow we go in and then what?" Annabeth asked, tracing a finger around the photo of their current building. "My mind is refusing to function after thinking that far."

"We look around, try and play the whole 'oh we're nothing but harmless students' card. Make a little mischief, cause a little chaos. You know, all the things that I excel at," he gave her a cocky grin as he ran his hand through his messy black hair.

"If you guys want, I can tag along. I have one of my dad's ID cards that I can use. Might be helpful if we can shake the tour guide," Rachel suggested.

"How did you get your dad's ID cards?" Percy asked.

"I swipe them when I get bored. It's fun."

"So the three of us, tomorrow?" Annabeth asked, picking the pieces of paper up and organizing them. She slipped the folder into her backpack. "I'm trusting that your dad won't be back any time soon?"

"Nah he left a few days ago and is usually gone for a few weeks. Mom'll come in and out of here every now and then but I don't think that she particularly likes looking at me."

"Great. Then we break it, try and figure out what the heck PAIL stands for other than Pizzas Always in Love which could totally work, don't give me that look Wise Girl, and then to celebrate we go to that one bakery that makes blue fudge and Rachel can treat us all. Don't try to make it any more complex than it has to be Annabeth. This'll work." He tapped her forehead with his index finger, "And if it doesn't, I know genius girl who can get us out of any trouble."

He yawned and then grabbed another piece of pizza before heading out. "If you need me, I'll be taking a well deserved shower and sleeping somewhere without the sushi eating hobo Joe."

Percy knew as he stepped into the shower that he could never be more thankful to whoever it was who invented the magical waterfall in the bathroom. He scrubbed all the grime off from the days of travel and the cockroach infested subways and washed his hair of only the gods knew what was in it. After toweling off, he found one of the multiple "complementary" toothbrushes the Dare household left in each bathroom (they always tended to have a few people who—after one of their parties—got royally pissed and had to stay the night) and brushed his teeth. (Listen up kids, you don't understand the importance of being able to brush your teeth until you haven't done it for days… and you're travelling with your girlfriend and it makes it pretty hard to kiss her because your breath smells like a skunk holed up in it and died.)

Climbing into the bed which was far more comfortable than his bed back at Goode and the bench they slept on at the bus stop (sleepovers were always at Rachel's house not only for the food but also for the amazing sleeping conditions. To a seven year old a king sized bed was a castle), Percy contentedly closed his eyes.

Man he could just doze off right, right here right—

"Percy."

Gods what now? He begrudgingly sat up and looked at the figure who stood in front of him, her wild red hair black in the shadows. "Yeah Rachel?" He asked. She sat down on the bed and just stared at him for a minute which should have been creepy for him, had he not known her tendency to do such things.

"Are you… I mean did…" She hesitated, looking left and right as if the idea would suddenly appear before her. "Are you in trouble? Like is this serious? Should I call the police?"

"It is serious Rache and if you don't want to be a part of it I understand. We'll leave if we need to. But we have to do this and we can't contact the police because…" it was his turn to hesitate. Because how can you tell the police about what was going on? Who would believe you? "Because it's something far bigger than I could ever have originally imagined."

"What happened to you at Goode? Your eyes… they're not as bright as they used to be, as mischievous. You've grown up in the few months you've been away."

"I guess I did. I guess I realized that my world is a whole lot bigger than it originally was." A pair of grey eyes came flashing through his head. "I think I figured out what is important to me and what's not. And while nothing really makes sense anymore to me, everything does."

"Annabeth," Rachel whispered. Percy nodded. She sighed, "I guess there really was no hope for us anyway." She picked at a loose string on her frayed sweater. "Wishful thinking and all."

"Rachel you can't seriously be telling me that… that you thought… that you and I?" Percy looked at her dumbfounded.

Rachel shook her head and laughed a little. "You always were so oblivious to the people around you sometimes Perce. But I understand. I'm not an idiot. You love her and she obviously loves you. I know when to back down." She paused a moment, before grinning. "And now that I know we're officially over, I can go after that barista that works at that awesome coffee shop, you know Veritas?" She seemed to be liking the idea more and more as she thought about it. "Yep, sorry Percy Jackson but this girl doesn't wait for anyone. That train has left the building." She grinned at him.

"You know you're weird right Rachel?"

"Hey I'm not the one that got sent to a school for mentally insane people," she tossed back at him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and plan my dramatic entrance in order to impress Kyler the Barista!" She threw a saucy smile at him and then flounced out of the room.

Percy shook his head and laughed at his friend before settling back down into the bed. It was not but a few minutes later when he heard, "So what was that about?"

"I knew you'd come in," he grinned. "Couldn't keep away from me could you Wise Girl?"

"You caught me," she said playfully. "Busy cheating behind my back?"

"And you caught me." He patted the seat next to him on the bed. "Come sit?" She walked over and gracefully sat down next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. "So what's going on in that brilliant mind of yours?"

"Lots of things," she said. "But there's been one thing that I've been wanting to do ever since we had that conversation earlier today." She drew his face closer to hers and placed her lips on his. It was short but it was breathtaking. Percy figured that once you found that person you were meant to spend your life with, every kiss was supposed to feel magical.

"I know you're smart Percy," she whispered, tucking her head against his chest. "In fact you're more brilliant than I am. You're loving and compassionate and loyal. You have your priorities straightened out whereas I'm still confused half the time. You have a good head—an excellent head—on your shoulders and I'm quite in love with it. Especially your eyes," she reached up and traced her finger around them. "And your lips." She kissed him again.

"I think you're absolutely astounding Perseus Jackson. You always have been and always will be and I never, ever meant to make you feel inferior."

"If this is the apology I get every time we fight then I like it." He could feel her smile against his chest. "Stay with me tonight?" He asked. "I'm too afraid that if you leave me I might never see you again."

"Of course I'll stay with you. Forever and always," she whispered.

_Forever and always_ he thought._ Seems just about right._


	17. Chapter 17

**Song you must listen to: Always by Bon Jovi. It's a perfect song for this story and if you don't like Bon Jovi... well then you're wrong. But seriously, go and listen to it. It's fantastic.**

**Chapter Seventeen**

People don't tend to notice.

Well perhaps they notice but not the right things. They notice the mundane things: clothes, hair, do you smell like your shower broke two years ago but your landlord has been too lazy to actually get to your apartment and fix it? They tend to miss… _life_. The stories and beauty, fear and anger behind each set of eyes they pass by on the street.

Every person is just a face in another faceless sea to you. But you yourself are just another face as well. No one is exactly special.

Perhaps he realized this only because his potential doom was currently laying in wait for him. When you die who remembers your story? No one can choose who lives or who dies. All we can control is what we do with our life.

Percy was never exactly a sentimental fellow. Sometimes when Smelly Gabe actually got off his ass to do his job, his mom would use some of her tip money and rent a movie. She always let Percy choose—usually something with swords and heroes—but sometimes he returned the favor by letting her choose. Secretly those were his favorites because he would snuggle close to his mom and she would wrap her arms around him and hug him so tight he never wanted to leave. But those movies were far too short and far too few. Beyond those rare moments when he forgot everything that he hated with his mom, Percy had learned there's no use being sentimental. You have to move on. If you don't move your feet you never go anywhere. Forgive and forget. Or at least he tried to. Some times were easier than others.

Maybe it was because the reality of his mortality was holding open the doors to PAIL, but he felt as if every step he took, someone was pressing the heel of their hand against his chest. Squeezing the life away. Even though he had already become best friends with Death, there was something infinitely different about choosing to walk to your potential death. He felt a sudden sweep of nausea pass over him.

In front of him, Annabeth and Rachel were talking heatedly as if they had been lifelong friends only just reacquainted. He smirked as Annabeth pointed upward to a carving in the side of one of the sky touching buildings in the Financial District and Rachel put her hand over her eyes to stare at it. The two had found a mutual appreciation of the study of architecture—that which combined art and precision.

The trio walked past the grave yard at Trinity Church and Percy had a sudden fleeting thought: had he been buried before? The thought made his stomach churn. How many times had he been forgotten by history and all of its great men? And not just him but everyone? For every name in a textbook there are thousands forgotten. You walk through Trinity Church's graveyard and see the tomb of Alexander Hamilton with all of its upkeep and yet you gloss over the faded ones right next to it—the ones in which you cannot even see the name. The name forgotten to history. Who were they? What were their stories?

The world shifts and changes. It remembers but more often it forgets.

We forget.

Percy shook his head and looked away from the couple who stood by the white grave of Alexander Hamilton taking photos. He needed to stop thinking morbid thoughts. That was Nico's contribution to the world.

He nearly ran into Annabeth's backside as the two girls stopped in front of PAIL's revolving doors. Looking between the two of them, he was suddenly aware of the fact that he was not the only one who was terrified. "You know," he cracked a smile, "if I was mayor of New York, I would get rid of these revolving doors. They're so damn easy to get stuck in." He slung his arm over Annabeth's shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Let's go. Gotta get the job done." And then he grinned at Rachel and pushed through the doors.

Not for the first time, he was reminded of how artificial the building was. He liked to think New York was a place of life and individuality, ever nook and cranny filled with life and not just life but exuberant, beautiful bursting at the seams life. And he loved it for that very reason.

There was something about the uncanny perfection in the building, the way everything seemed to fit into a perfect mold from the potted plants to the hanging light fixtures. Everything was sleek and symmetrical, no room for anyone to act outside of the carefully constructed boundaries and borders. For someone who found himself constantly acting outside of rules and regulations, Percy found the environment of PAIL to be stifling and controlling.

The lobby was filled with men and women who looked like the carbon copy of the one before.

His mind began racing as he thought what else the devious company could be hiding behind locked doors and barred windows. Percy Jackson would like to think that he wasn't a coward… but in facing reality, everyone is a coward at some point in their life. If there was another option… any option which didn't involve marching straight into the firing zone, Percy would have taken the escape route. It wasn't that he was a coward per say. It was just that a guy gets a little tired of dying all the time. You would think mortality would start kicking in after the first death or so.

Reaching a hand to the back of his head, Percy pressed against his skull in an attempt to block out the mind numbing ringing which had begun that morning after he woke up with Annabeth in his arms. He didn't remember a time he had ever had a headache as bad as this one but it was as if there was someone inside trying to fight their way out. Whatever was inside his head was banging at the base of his skull with a hammer and Percy didn't appreciate it whatsoever.

"What a day to get a migraine," he muttered to himself as he regretted not asking Rachel for any painkiller before they left. Annabeth left his side to talk to the man who was sitting at the front desk this morning. She turned on her brilliant smile and Percy felt a little protective of her when he saw the man smile back. He knew it was all a farce to get them into the building but he wished that he could see that smile more.

Wasn't that _his_ smile?

Unable to stand it any longer, Percy stalked over to the information desk and glowered at the man with slicked back hair and teeth which made you either want to ask him who his dentist was or punch him in the face. He held his nose in the air as if they were the equivalent of the food vendors on the side of the street (whom Percy loved to eat from—you burned calories at the same time you gained them, a perfect union really).

"And who would these two be?" The man at the information desk—Carlos, Percy named him—casted a flittering glance toward Percy and Rachel, his nose wrinkling with distaste. Rachel appeared oblivious to it all in her paint splattered skirt, scissor attacked leggings, and her shirt which read _There would be no Earth without Art_. But Percy knew better. The oblivious ones notice the most. She was most likely plotting his ultimate demise in that brilliant mind of hers. You could never trust a ginger, even if she was one of his best friends.

"I'm her boyfriend," Percy spoke up, giving the man—Carlos—a warning look.

"And this is our friend. I hope you don't mind that we brought her along but she's a photographer and it's a PowerPoint presentation so we thought we would ask her to get some pictures of the phenomenal architecture. Did I mention how amazed I am with the stunningly realistic imitations of Ancient Greek architecture and art? It's wonderful," Annabeth said.

"Of course that's okay. I'll be showing you around if you don't mind." He gave her a flirtatious wink which Percy furiously noted the man—Carlos—actually managed to pull off because of his smart hair and brilliant smile. Curse it when handsome men flirted with his girlfriend.

"I think you have something stuck in your eye man," Percy provided generously. Percy noted triumphantly as the man took a step back and rubbed his eyes furiously at his eyes. "Oh looks like you got it."

"Thanks," he muttered, swiping at his eye one more time before straightening his jacket. "I'll just be grabbing my coworker who will also be showing you around and then we'll show you upstairs. I'll be right back."

Once he left, Annabeth turned to face Rachel and Percy. "Apparently they're doing a conference on the importance of Eco-Safe Architecture which they thought we could sit in on. I was thinking Rachel and I could listen in and talk to a few people because no offense Percy but you're about as flirtatious as an old lady in floral who lost her teeth two decades ago."

"I don't exactly know how to take that," Percy quipped. "So while you two are flirting it up, what do you suggest I do?"

"You could take a look around. Fake illness, that sort of thing."

He wasn't sure that he would have to fake illness. The thought of splitting up the group sounded a little too risky. What if he got caught? Or more importantly Annabeth? From the moment he had woken that morning with a piercing headache, he had one thought constantly churning around in his head. _Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth_. Her name rang like symphony yet was as unforgettable as one of those stupid love songs. No matter what, he was getting her out of here alive and unharmed.

"Do you really think that's a good idea Wise Girl? I mean if there's one thing I learned from Scooby Doo it's that you don't split up because the stupid ones usually end up attracting the monsters."

"But the stupid ones also end up saving the day," she fired back. "It's our best option if we're going to cover any ground. Plus our other tour guide is a woman. She'd have to get someone else to check on you in the bathroom if you're gone for too long. I know it's not much to go on and it's a pretty shoddy plan but it's all we have right now."

Percy looked to Rachel for support but she merely shrugged. "I think it could work. Like your girlfriend said, we don't have much else to go on." She handed him the folder of information she had swiped from her father's office. "I have complete and utter faith in you and so does Annabeth." She looked him straight in the eye, her green gaze unwavering. "It's your turn to shine Percy so why not do it in a ball of blazing flames? If you're going to fall into the lava might as well jump."

Shaking his head, he stuffed the folder into his backpack. "You manage to simultaneously sound stupid and brilliant RED."

"It's a gift," she grinned. They heard a clicking and clacking of heels against tile and turned to see the man—Carlos—and a tall, beautiful woman walking toward them with her head held high and her clothes ironed to perfection. She stopped in front of the trio of teens and held out a perfectly manicured hand.

"Hello you must be Annabeth, Percy, and Rachel. I'm Circe and it's a pleasure to meet you." Her voice was unlike anything Percy had ever heard before. It was the sort of voice that deserved to be heard on the radio every day. The sort of voice which men would follow no matter what. "Welcome to PAIL. We're so thrilled that you chose our company to do your report on. If you'll follow us to the elevator we can begin our tour."

She gave them another pleasant smile which revealed perfect rows of white teeth behind those unrealistically bright red lips. What was a woman who looked like _that_ doing at a place like this? One more point to add towards the overall sinking feeling in his gut. He wished he had a ball of wax he could use to shove in his ears and block out the sound of her sultry voice. Wasn't that something that one of those Ancient Greeks did in those stories Annabeth loved so much?

The group followed the beautiful women toward a back hallway made of stones walls and floors with a great golden seal with a towering building on it emblazoned on the back wall. Six elevators—three on either side—lined the walls. Circe pushed a manicured finger against the button and then launched into a speech about the building.

"PAIL Inc has twenty one floors with floors ranging from architectural design to business offices to a cafeteria on floor five. We are incredibly proud of some of the buildings we have designed from national monuments to hotels for Donald Trump."

Rachel leaned in toward Percy and whispered, "That fact alone proves that they are pure evil." Percy smirked.

The elevator dinged and they stepped in. Circe pushed the third floor. "Today we thought we would let you sit in on one of our conventions that we host every year as well as see some of our drafting rooms. We strive toward energy efficient architecture which will last for centuries. Our first stop will be the conference room where you will hear one of our partners speak on the importance of using solar panels in design in order to prevent the ice caps from melting in Antarctica."

Percy saw Annabeth's eyebrows raise as she pursed her lips but she said nothing. "Are there going to be refreshments?" Percy piped up. "Preferably blue cookies?"

Circe stared at him. The man from the front desk—Percy should really ask for his name—snorted. "What?" She asked.

"Oh! That's a great question!" Rachel jumped in. "Snacks are always important. I might fall asleep or not. It keeps the blood sugar going and all that. By the way is the only architectural inspiration PAIL has Greek? Because I feel as if that's all I've seen so far. Don't you think by focusing specifically on Greek architecture it pigeon holes you and keeps you from being able to reach out to people who might prefer other styles of architecture such as modern or even medieval—you know if you're into that torture chamber stuff and all."

Circe stared at her with wide eyes and then sputtered a little as she tried to answer Rachel's question. "Well… well… I suppose that since PAIL is a relatively new industry we haven't had the opportunity to expand beyond Greek architecture."

"So is PAIL not competent enough to branch out into other realms of architecture?"

Circe's eyes grew cold. "It's not a matter of our competency little girl. It's a matter of time."

"But surely any good company would be able to adapt quickly. I find that if you want to survive in New York you have to adapt and adapt quickly. Specialization doesn't exactly work anymore. And I'm not exactly a little girl so I would appreciate it if you didn't call me that anymore." Percy watched the shift from flighty RED to Rachel Elizabeth Dare—green eyes aglow with intensity— daughter of one of the richest land developers of all time with a cool and poised confidence.

"Of course," Circe said tersely, avoiding Rachel's heavy gaze.

The elevator doors opened and Circe was the first one out of the cart. "Welcome to the seventeenth floor. This is where we hold our conferences where we entertain guests from around the world. PAIL prides itself in our foreign relations."

All in all, Percy was actually quite impressed with the seventeenth floor. The entrance to the hallway from the elevator area was flanked by two large Corinthian columns. The right side of the hallway was a long glass window running floor to ceiling providing anyone with a gorgeous view of the sprawling city of New York. Of course, it wasn't the postcard-esque pictures everyone saw in any book on New York, the one of the Manhattan skyline. That view could only be seen from across the water, usually in Brooklyn Heights. But the view was stunning, overlooking all the soaring buildings—peculiar and plain. He imagined that at night when the city was alight in that twinkling glow of a million lights, you wouldn't be able to look away.

"Right through these doors the conference on Eco-Friendly Architecture is currently in session. If you could please keep quiet, we'll be sitting in the back." Circe opened the door wide enough for them to slip in unnoticed. Situated in the back, Percy sat between Rachel and Annabeth. The pounding in his head began again.

Normally Percy had a relatively high pain tolerance and headaches were little more than the equivalent of a gnat on the pain scale, but this one was steadily increasing in pain as the meeting went on. A tall, thin man with a salt and pepper hair stood in front of a podium with a stack of papers, droning on about the importance of building in an area where you could be at harmony with nature. Out of the corner of his eye, Percy noticed Rachel shifting uncomfortably in her seat. He understood why.

Rachel's father, Mr. Dare (come to think of it, Percy had no idea what he first name actually was) had no respect for nature. He took what he wanted and tore down that which he didn't. Nothing could stand in his way.

Mankind destroys centuries of life in mere seconds.

Lifting a hand to his head and pressing against his forehead as if somehow he could rub out the pain, Percy let out a small groan. Annabeth turned to him, her forehead wrinkled in concern. "Are you alright?" She whispered, tracing a finger along the creases in his brow. "Headache?"

He nodded mutely. "Do you need to get some fresh air?" She asked. He nodded again.

A finality seemed to settle over them as it was her turn to nod. "You'll be back," she whispered, more so to herself than to him. "Right Seaweed Brain?"

"Right Wise Girl." And then he kissed her.

Perhaps for the last time.

"I'll be back." He stood up and began the awkward walk to the end of the isle, trying not to step on any expensive shoes or briefcases.

He didn't look back.

The security guard at the door politely told him that the nearest restrooms were all the way on the eighth floor and he could take the elevator or the stairs down. As he waited in the elevator for a rather large lady to waddle in, he couldn't help but think how people managed to hold their need to go all the way from the top floor to the eighth.

He watched as the lady punched in her floor number and then settled back against the wall, arms folded.

There was nothing quite as awkward as standing in an elevator with someone you don't know and waiting to the horrific elevator music. Percy once had a teacher who had a loop of 30 hours of common elevator music which he would play while they were taking a test. Whenever the guidance counselor asked him why he could never pull anything higher than a D+ in that class, Percy would blame it on the elevator music. If you wanted to kill someone painfully and slowly, do it with elevator music.

Looking up at the flashing red numbers above the door, he realized that they were passed the eighth floor. Well… that was normal sometimes when someone pressed a lower floor button after you.

But then the numbers went past the Lobby.

Into negative numbers.

It was then that he knew something wasn't right. The lady was looking at him with a grin which seemed to reach from one side of her face to the other. Yep. Something was definitely off.

"I didn't know there was a basement," he joked.

"There's always a basement," the woman said in an ominous tone. Her voice seemed to rasp in the air like sandpaper and sent chills down Percy's spine. "But no one ever looks for the basement."

That was true. Horror stories had taught Percy that terrible things hid in the basement but sometimes you didn't know there even _was_ a basement until it was too late.

The lights began to flicker and he suddenly saw himself in one of those very same movies. The elevator creaked and groaned before slamming to a stop on floor negative 16. The impact of the halt caused Percy to topple forward onto the floor. He let out a groan as his knees smacked against the tile.

"You should consider yourself honored Perseus Jackson," the lady hissed. When Percy looked up from his spot on the floor as the elevator doors dinged to an open, he realized her appearance was almost reptilian. Of course she looked human but her eyes were slitted and mouth wide.

"Well if you're going to offer me a lollipop I'll definitely not be taking it. Stranger danger and all and no offense but you hit pretty high on the scales of both 'stranger' and 'danger.'"

The lady laughed, a laugh which sounded like bones scraping against each other. "Rarely are Sonny and I bestowed the honor of defeating one such as yourself. You made quite an impression when you defeated Medusa and her pups. But Sonny is no pup."

"Uh… Sonny?" Percy staggered to his feet.

"Yes… Sonny. My son. Born from my sweat, blood and tears. Not one hero has ever escaped his bite." Percy looked out of the elevator cage and into the dark abyss beyond. There was not a single light, only deep and utter darkness stretching as far as he could see. It seemed to swallow up any notion of anything.

Nothing but a singular shadowy figure slowly coming toward them.

It was like the pits of hell.

Click, click, click.

Claws on stone.

Closer, closer, closer.

"We call these bottom floors Tartarus here at PAIL. And no one has ever escaped Tarturus alive and lived to tell the tale. This is only the first floor but my Sonny does such a wonderful that you will never make it past this floor. You might as well resign yourself to death at the hands of Echidna, Mother of Monsters!"

The only thing Percy could think to say was: "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"***

She howled. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you."

A loan growl echoed through the darkness outside of the elevator and its flickering lights. Percy felt the hands of Fear crawl up and down his spine as he tried to catch a better glimpse of the shadow which was moving closer and closer.

At first he thought it might be a Chihuahua. Why he thought that he wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was because when he was a little boy one had attacked him on Coney Island in an effort to get his hot dog and since then he had always equivocated devils with Chihuahuas. But once he saw the beast in the wisp of light which the darkness had not yet swallowed up, he thought he could be best friends with Chihuahuas when he made it out of this alive.

_When_ of course because he promised Annabeth he would be back.

And because by gods he needed to use the bathroom.

"Meet Sonny. Designed like the Ancient Greek Chimera, a ferocious beast who was the son to my namesake. I built himself."

The chimera was so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind.*** Its eyes glowed red and other than that and the fact that Echidna had told him before hand, Percy never would have known it was a machine.

"Ya guys sure do have a strange fascination with Greece," he muttered, his body going numb at the thought of fighting such a monstrous creature.

"The Greeks were the structure of modern civilization. Why change something which worked so well?" Echidna claimed proudly. "And now you will die, mauled to pieces by my darling boy right there, just as the others who followed before you." She sounded almost gleeful.

_Others?_ He wondered. "You seem to forget one thing though and probably the only thing I remember from my History classes," Percy said, studying the beast in front of him, his adrenaline now beginning to kick into gear.

"Oh and what is that?"

"Greece fell to Rome."

And with that he dove straight between the chimera's legs, rolled out of the way of the snake slamming down to bit him, and took off at a sprint into the darkness.

As he ran, he realized that the chimera must be able to see in the dark and if not that then it would be able to track him through scent. The fact that he was freaking out and panicking was probably not helping him mask his scent.

Ramming into a shelf filled with indistinguishable items, he knocked it over sending it crashing to the floor and in the process knocking over countless other shelves along with it. Scrambling up, as he looked behind himself to see the chimera turning the corner at a rapid pace, red eyes aglow, Percy had a sudden, terrible thought that this might be the end.

No.

No. He had promised Annabeth. By gods he was going to get out of this one alive.

He pumped his arms as he seemingly flew down the aisles of the room. He realized that he was in a maze of some sort, the shelves serving as the walls. There was no way of hiding from the beast which he heard close behind him, it's sharp, knife like claws clicking against the floor as it ran, the soft echo of the hiss of its snake in the air.

The shelves contained numerous objects from toasters to class bottles of unidentifiable objects. He was almost certain he had seen a battle axe a few rows back. He slammed into another shelf and this one didn't fall over. Bolted into the floor, Percy realized he had hit a dead end. Whirling around, he saw the chimera at the end of the aisle, blocking his escape. "Shit," he cursed. The lowest shelf rested on the floor so there was no way of going under it. Instead, he reached up and pulled himself onto a shelf. Might as well climb over it.

The footing was difficult but due to the rock climbing wall at Half-Blood, he had become an expert at climbing through tight spaces. Almost as good as Grover. He scrambled up and over the shelves, just as he felt the swipe of the chimera's bloody paw at his back. He yelled as one of the claws snagged ripped through his shirt and clawed at his back.

Nearly flinging himself off the top of the bookcase, he managed to reach the floor, his breathing labored. Reaching a hand to his back he realized his back was now covered in blood. And what was more, the monster had taken his backpack.

The monster roared at the loss of its prey and slammed itself against the shelf, causing items to crash to the floor but the shelf stayed in place. Once, twice, three times did it slam itself in a hope of knocking it over but it must have realized the bookshelf was going nowhere so it turned around and went running the other way, most likely following the scent of Percy's blood to find his new hiding space.

And that was when he saw it.

The chimera had knocked a flashlight off the shelf and when it clattered to the floor it turned on. And in the dying light, Percy saw it.

It was one of the most beautiful things he had seen in all of his life.

It was a sword.

Crawling over to where it lay, half hidden under a tarp which had also fallen, Percy lifted it up. It was surprisingly well balanced. All the other swords he had trained with at Goode were always off center or difficult for him to use.

Some say that the master chooses the weapon. But in that moment Percy Jackson had to agree with the saying, "The wand chooses the wizard." It was the equivalent of love at first sight.

And in that same moment when he held his sword, he realized one other important thing: someone wanted him to succeed. Someone wanted anyone who fought the chimera to succeed. Or at least stand a fair chance. The shelves were lined with not random items, but equipment. Weapons. Traps. What he was assuming was most likely poison. (Apparently someone thought that someone would choose the toaster as their choice weapon. Poor soul was probably sitting in some room somewhere thinking _I hope he chooses the toaster!_)

It was a test and he was supposed to fight.

And more importantly, he was supposed to win.

Percy Jackson was usually a laid back person. But he had a tendency to be competitive. Highly competitive.

If someone was testing him to see if he could win… then damn it he was going to win.

As they say in Texas—or at least he was pretty sure they said in Texas—Go big or go home.

Or in this case… go big or die.

And dying was not an option.

He would defeat the chimera, find Annabeth, and use the bathroom all before he bled to death from the wound on his back. Annabeth might construe some wild, maddening, brilliant plan to succeed but Percy liked to keep it symbol. Three simple tasks: chimera, Annabeth, bathroom. In that order.

A load roar echoed through the labyrinth and Percy knew the chimera had locked onto his position. Standing up, his tightened his hold on his sword. He would like to imagine he looked fierce, wild, brave even. But even if he didn't, he knew one thing.

It was time to slay a monster.

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

While he was ready to slay a monster, nothing could have prepared Percy for the dead body. Especially the dead body of a someone he knew.

He had somehow found himself in a large open area. Just as all roads lead to Rome, all the aisle of shelves lead to a large open area in the center of what he now was assuming was a large cavern. It was lit with torches as if whoever had set up this sick test wanted to make it "fair" for the fighter.

But when he saw the body, Percy turned and hurled.

He almost didn't recognize who it was. Her nails and fingers were broken and bloody as it looked like she had tried to claw her way free in mad desperation. The bottom half of her torso was a mangled resemblance to what must have been legs. And her face—oh gods her face—it was twisted with a look of pure and utter horror.

No one deserved to die with the last thing they see being a living nightmare.

It was Olive.

The girl Percy had seen on the first day at Goode. The girl whom he had asked Luke about, who looked so sick, so desperate, so lifeless. He had heard that she had passed her tests and had been considered "healthy" and "sane" and her parents had come to pick her up. Hazel had told him during one of his run ins with her. He had found her in a tree near the forest, tears in her eyes.

Hazel had told him she was worried for Olive. She told him she was afraid Olive was going to die.

When he asked his friends that night, Piper had said that Olive was in her art class and that she was so excited to be going home. Turns out Olive had a boyfriend while she was at Goode and he had been released six months before Percy had come. They lived in the same city and they were excited to get to live a normal life together.

And now she was dead.

He was probably dead too.

Mauled to death just as Echidna had said. The bile rose in his throat again.

"I see you found the last of Sonny's playthings. Poor thing, didn't even make it two steps before he snatched her up and started playing with her." Percy didn't even turn around. He didn't even care that Echidna and the chimera were behind him. His eyes stayed trained on Olive's body, his body quivering in anger.

He had never felt so angry in his life.

Of course Olive hadn't made it very far. She had been an artist and according to Piper, a very good one. An excellent one.

She did not deserve to die.

"You are sick," he choked. "Sick."

"Oh don't tell me she was your friend. A good warrior never shows signs of weakness, of kindness, of heartache. She was just another person. No one will miss her. Her parents think that she was a couple loose screws away from the nut house."

"It doesn't matter if she was my friend or my enemy. No one deserves to die like this. No one deserves to die when they think they're going to go home." He whirled around, a crazed light in his sea-green eyes. "You have no right to destroy someone's dreams of home. You have no right to kill."

Echidna laughed. "You think that do you? But it's a cruel world out there. Survival of the fittest. Only the great survive. The weak, even the good… well they perish. That's the reality of it all. Look at Sparta. This girl was weak. We do what nature eventually would do but we… speed up the process."

He could no longer control himself.

Percy Jackson was angry. He was sickened. He was ready to kill someone.

"No one deserves to die like this. _Never_ like this." And then he attacked.

The chimera lunged as soon as he got within five feet of it. Spinning out of the way he brought his sword down on the snake which blitzed at him, slicing its head clean off. It fell to the ground in a crash of gears and screws, the beady red eyes going dark. The lion part of the beast let out a whimper.

And then he repeated his attack, diving between the legs and slashing at the underbelly of the beast. Oil poured out of stomach in place of blood. The chimera's giant paw came and swatted him away, causing him to crash against a shelf. He let out a heavy groan as he rolled into a kneeling position. "That is definitely going to bruise," he muttered.

When he reached his feet, he held his sword out in front of him as the chimera stalked forward. "I'll give you this Perseus Jackson, you have given my son the best fight of his life since Thalia Grace came through back when Sonny was the ninth layer, not the first. But even her life ended."

Thalia Grace. Jason's sister. Annabeth's best friend.

Had she met the same fate as Olive?

"There's always a first time for something," he muttered more to himself than to Echidna. And then he had a hair brained idea. Reaching behind him, he grasped a bottle of a strange green liquid. He had once seen something similar back at Camp Half-Blood. The Stoll brothers liked to use it on occasion.

He threw it at the beast and it exploded.

Greek Fire.

Rushing forward through the chaos his distraction had earned him, he leapt upward, somehow managing to raise his sword to the exact angle needed to execute the move he had been taught only two weeks ago. Coach Hedge would have been proud of this cupcake.

Percy brought his sword down straight through the skull of the mechanical monster.

With a loud creak and groan, the monster short circuited and collapsed to the ground. He somersaulted out of the way as the giant head crashed to the pavement. With a heavy sigh, Percy watched in triumph as it twitched and then shuddered to lifelessness.

Echidna let out a horrified screech. "My son!" She said. "My son!"

Percy gave her a disgusted look. "That wasn't too hard. And you should really look into this 'mother-complex' of yours. I would recommend a psychiatrist but I'm afraid that you won't have long enough."

This must have been what Annabeth had felt when she killed Medusa. Cold, hard fury. Vengeance. It was as if he was no longer in control of his own actions. "How many have you killed?" He asked in a hollow voice. The large lady with the reptilian face had sunk to the floor and now sat cowering under his glare. "How many?" He repeated. "How many innocent lives have you murdered?"

"It was all an order! I couldn't say no! They told me too!" She whimpered.

"And the devil used to tell me as a kid to take the cookies from the cookie jar. The whole 'devil made me do it' thing doesn't work on me lady. You can always say no. How many did you kill?"

"I… I don't know!" She had turned to a hysterical, blubbering mess by this point. "It was just a game… just a game!" Rocking back and forth, she seemed to have short circuited just like her mechanical beast. "Just a game!" She repeated one more time.

"Playing with someone's life is never a game. But if you're willing to treat it like a game then you better be willing to play by the same stakes as everyone else." He raised his sword.

"Please… please don't do it!" She begged, holding her hands up.

"You killed an innocent children who thought they were going home. You are a liar and murderer. The world does not need to kill the innocent. It needs to kill the evil." And then he brought the butt of his sword down on her head.

She crumpled to the ground, knocked out cold.

"But lucky for you, I'm not like you."

**The slight dig given toward Donald Trump at one point in time in this chapter by Rachel was not meant to be offensive toward anyone who supports him... I just feel that Rachel would never support Trump... I try to steer clear about sharing my political beliefs so most political comments are comments I think the character would make.**

***** _Taken from Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief_**


	18. Chapter 18

**This story is nearing an end. **

**This chapter has not been edited with a fine tooth comb so while you can criticize it as much as you want content wise, please refrain from pointing out small grammatical mistakes. :) **

**Chapter Eighteen**

He buried Olive as best he could.

The moment Echidna collapsed to the ground all the lights flashed open and Percy was able to finally look at his surroundings. Random objects had crashed to the floor from the mini battle which had ensued and there was a small fire blazing in the corner from where two bottles had crashed against each other.

Instead of trying to put out the fire, he fed it scraps of paper from books and clothes which he found on the shelves. He took a moment to change his shirt and bandage his wound using whatever training he remembered from some of the classes at Goode (in all honesty, most his knowledge came from TV dramas which he watched at different furniture stores). Percy was slightly nervous that the cut might be worse than he originally had assumed it to be. He could already feel the effects of losing so much blood as he stumbled drunkenly around. He found a box of protein bars and munched on one.

How something could simultaneously taste like sawdust and ambrosia in one bite was beyond him.

Someone had literally filled thousands upon thousands of shelves in this underground maze with supplies and yet it would all go to waste.

He found a tarp and cringed at the thought of using it but decided it was better than nothing. Carefully, Percy wrapped what was left of Olive's body in the tarp and carried it over to the now blazing fire. He rolled the body onto the makeshift pyre, cringing as the tongues of flames licked at his hands. He stood there mutely, watching as the flames gently caressed her in eternal warmth. Reaching up, he wiped the sudden heat of tears from his face and then turned away.

Why would someone be as cruel as to kill a girl who wanted to be an artist? He began to wonder if she was even crazy in the first place. Or was that merely another attempt at someone trying to play God?

Usually when people acted as deities… things went to hell. Quickly.

Staring at the sword in his hand, Percy felt a sudden thought that maybe… somehow he had seen this sword somewhere before. The name came swiftly to his brain: Anaklusmos _Riptide_. A sword with much history.

He found a scabbard and attached it to his belt, realizing that if a person survived Echidna and her "son" – she should be the one checked into Goode when she woke up—she or he was meant to then prepare for the next part of the journey. He was once again struck with panic that he had lost his backpack. Thankfully he had removed anything of value back at Rachel's apartment but the backpack had all of the important papers and possible security codes to get in and out of this living nightmare. But Percy had no desire to go back romping through the maze until he found it. Flashing arrows had lit up on signs above the shelves and provided him with a way out. And with all the spine tingling feelings he was getting—along with an increasing headache—he wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

So instead, he grabbed a new backpack and stuffed it with protein bars, an extra change of clothing, and a few knives—for when he reached Annabeth and they needed to fight their way through. He debated grabbing the toaster if he saw it on his way out… just to make the guy who decided to provide it holler in happiness. But then he realized there were no power outlets, so the toaster would be next to useless. The feeling of Riptide on his hip brought him a strange but pleasant sense of comfort to him as he set out toward the exit, leaving the pyre burning (maybe it would burn the whole place down) and Echidna's crumpled form. PAIL—or whoever they were—could decide what they wanted to do with the oversized lady. He sure wasn't going to touch her.

Percy wished he could bring Olive back with him and give her a proper burial but at this point in time he was beginning to think that he himself might never make it out alive. He vowed to find her parents when this was over and tell them the truth. He vowed to find how many other students had been brought here and murdered.

He vowed to make things right.

As soon as Percy reached the elevator and stepped in, the panic and fatigue began to set in. He slumped against the walls of the death trap and closed his eyes, his fingers curling around the hilt of the sword. The elevator doors dinged close automatically and it began its rickety descent lower into hell. He let out a straggled groan and leaned his head backward, exhaustion taking over his system.

He had never felt such a great need to curl up in a fetal position and fall asleep until this moment.

The moment of peace ended too soon. The elevator doors dinged open and Percy stumbled to stand up, holding his sword out in front of him to protect whatever monster attacked him fresh out of the gates.

Instead he was greeted by a long corridor with flashing arrows and neon lights saying THIS WAY GLADIATOR! or ONLY A FEW MORE STEPS TILL VICTORY and the ever motivational IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF THE ELEVATOR YOU WILL DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH.

That sure got his butt out of the elevator. The doors closed behind him and Percy wondered if he could just slump down on the floor right there and take a quick nap. Surely whoever was running this insane nut-job wouldn't be so evil as to deny a man his right to sleep.

But at the same time, he refused to risk it. He had to get back to Annabeth, just as he promised her he would.

Forcing himself to place one foot in front of the other, he made his was down the hallway. The moment seemed surreal and out of place with reality. Percy found himself grasping to accept that somehow he had managed to stay alive. And yet here he was, once again willingly walking toward his own possible doom.

The corridor let to a large steel door with a touch screen embedded on it. Reaching out to place the pads of his fingers on it, Percy felt a sudden poke and pinch. He quickly withdrew his hand and looked at the large red dot which was blooming on the tip of his finger. "Nasty beast," he said, wiping it on his pant leg and giving the door a stern glare. He was almost positive—then again he had reached the conclusion that he was currently existing in a half lucid state—that the door was glaring at him.

"Perseus Jackson has been confirmed and recorded in the data base. You may enter," an automated woman's voice spoke. He heard the sound of a heavy latch being lifted and then the door swung open, revealing another corridor. Feeling like he was entrapped in the one Disney movie which gave him nightmares—Alice in Wonderland—he stepped in.

Perhaps it was the slightly paranoid, conspiracy theorist side of him, but deep down he knew it was never a smart thing when your enemy took a sample of your blood. Zombie apocalypses happen, robots killing mutants happen, death happens. He stared down at the small cut on his finger and shrugged. It could be worse.

He could somehow be ending the world with a bloody nose.

This corridor was shorter and smelled almost sterile like a doctor's office. Percy suddenly had a vivid flashback to sitting on one of those beds in the doctor's office, the type with the crinkly paper which they say you can draw on but you always end up stabbing one of the crayons through the stupid paper, and having a nurse tell him, "You won't feel a thing," as she rammed a very sharp syringe into his upper arm. That would have to be one of the biggest lies known to man. Right up there with the: I read the terms and conditions one.

The door was wooden and ancient looking in comparison to the previous door. There was no handle, no knob, no touch screen. He pushed the door open.

Instantly he was greeted by the loud roar of applause and bright lights blazing. For a moment he thought it was the sun, until he remembered he was currently underground… in a figurative hell. Maybe literal with the way his day was going.

He guessed it wasn't the largest arena he'd ever been in, but it seemed pretty spacious considering the whole place was underground (in the City too… as in probably below the trains). The dirt floor was circular, just big enough that you could drive a car around the rim if you pulled in really tight.*

But the most disturbing of all was the battle currently going on between two children.

Even though he had seen movies about it, seeing it in person, up close made him want to turn around and hurl. Maybe it was because he had just seen Olive. Maybe it was because one of them looked little older than thirteen. Maybe it was because you could see something in a movie but it would never translate in your mind the way it does in real life.

Death sucks. Kids fighting to the Death sucks even more. There is nothing which will prepare you for it.

"You finally made it," a cheerful voice came. "We were told to expect you." Percy turned to see a charming looking girl standing in the space which had been empty mere seconds ago. She was African American with incredibly curly hair. "My name is Kelli." She leaned in uncomfortably close, causing him to lean away from her. She smelled like cinnamon but underneath she reeked like death. "Perseus Jackson. Your blood sample was spectacular." She traced a finger up his arm and smiled at him.

He felt lightheaded.

"Uh… thanks…" His words seemed to jumble in his mouth. She laughed and squeezed his hand. "Adorable," she commented. Ouch. That did a number to his ego. "We best be getting you suited up. You're next."

"Next for what exactly?" He asked but he already knew the answer.

"Why to fight of course!" She spread her empty hand (the other one she had wrapped around Percy's and he at the same time wanted to leave it there but also rip it off) toward the center of the arena. "Only the strongest can pass Antaeus' Arena. Only the strongest will survive at all."

"This whole natural selection thing is giving me the creeps. You guys took your highschool biology lessons to the extreme," he admitted. Kelli laughed a low and throaty laugh which he was sure would cause more than a few guys to excuse themselves from the room.

"You brought a sword I see. I like a man that comes prepared," _There's a double meaning in that _he thought to himself. Feeling her hands skimming across his shoulders and lower, he twisted away.

"And I like a girl that knows how to keep her hands to herself." Kelli's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before settling into a hard, cool gaze leveled directly at him. She folded her arms. "I was only trying to make you more comfortable before your death. As far as I'm concerned you can go on in what you're wearing. You don't deserve my help."

Percy stiffened. "Thanks for the thought but I don't plan on dying today. So what do I do exactly?"

"What does it look like?" Kelli replied haughtily as she tossed her dark curls over one shoulder. "It's a fight to the death in typical gladiatorial fashion. As soon as one of these two kills the other, you're on."

Percy trained his eyes on the two currently in the arena. One was a tall girl with coppery colored skin and long dark hair which was tightly knotted into a braid. She dodged the attacks of her opponent—a boy with a rusty orange color of hair—with the grace of a ballerina yet the agility of a well trained fighter. She fought with no armor and by the way she held her sword, Percy could tell it was not her weapon of choice. The boy she was fighting carried his axe with the skill of a baker holding a chainsaw and looked exhausted with dark circles under his glazed over eyes.

Percy had seen that look before in so many of the kids at Goode. It was the look of someone who was ready to give up.

The boy went in for the attack but he tripped on his own feet and fell down with a thud. The girl stood in front of him, her sword raised. Percy averted his eyes away from the scene before him, unable to bear watching another death. He heard the sword come down with a heavy thud.

"Damn it," Kelli snarled and Percy looked back. The girl had driven her sword into the ground, refusing to deal the final blow, and instead sunk to her knees, collapsing in exhaustion. "That's the fourth time she's done it today." Four people rushed onto the field. Two of them dragged the two fighters off while one grabbed their weapons and the last raked the dirt like you would at a baseball game.

"You're next Hot Shot," she said, shoving him out into the middle of the arena. "Sooner you kill someone, sooner you get out of here."

Her last word sent chills down his spine.

Similar to that one guy in that one movie, Percy stood in the middle of the arena, sword in one hand. There was a loud roar and Percy rotated on the balls of his feet to try and get a better view at his surroundings. The lights were blinding causing him to be unable to make out any figures or faces.

A sea of ghosts cheering for his death.

"Perseus Jackson versus Ethan Nakamura," a booming voice announced into the arena. There was one shape he could make out. Sitting on a large throne like chair was a humanoid like creature. Percy was unable to determine exactly what it was. But whatever it was, it lorded over the place like a god.

The door on the opposite side of the arena swung open and out came a young warrior. He looked a little older than Percy about eighteen. He had glossy black hair and his left eye was covered with an eye patch.**

His heart sank.

Percy knew this kid. It was Ethan from Luke's class back at Goode, the kid from capture the flag. He had never known his last name but had heard through passing that Ethan had passed his final tests and was returning home. He knew very little about Ethan other than his mother was almost as psycho as he was and had stabbed his eye when he was younger in order to be "fair." While Percy wasn't exactly sure of the details, he was almost certain the whole "eye for an eye" thing didn't exist anymore.

As Ethan neared him, Percy recognized the tired yet feral look in his eye. How long had he been trapped here for? He had been released from Goode almost two months ago.

"Ethan," He said slowly, as the fellow teen approached him, sword at the ready. It was then Percy realized that Ethan would have as much training as he did since they had attended the same school.

"Percy." His answer was cool and distant. The two began circling each other slowly.

"How long have you been down here for?"

"Time's a funny concept in the arena. You don't count by days, you count by fights. And I've lost track of those. I'm ready to be done. Sorry that you have to be the one to get me out of here." Ethan lunged at him but Percy spun away.

"There's got to be another way to get out of here."

Ethan shook his shaggy mane of hair. Man the boy needed a haircut. "Only two tickets out: kill or be killed. If you refuse to kill, you just fight another battle. Again and again and again until you become too weak to even lift your sword and die of exhaustion. You see the girl who fought before you? Her name's Zoë. She's been here for almost a year. Refuses to kill anyone. From what the other guys say, usually you crack by then. Go crazy. Kill some shit. But she won't."

Ethan struck again but Percy parried his strike, keeping on the defensive. He considered using his handicap against him but Percy had heard in the cafeteria about the legend of the one eyed fighter that was Ethan Nakamura. There was no blind spot, he had fought long enough with his eye patch to know how to protect himself.

"How did you end up down here in the first place? I thought you were going home." Percy backed up, losing his footing on a rock and stumbled to the ground. Ethan slashed at him but he rolled out of the way at the last second, only earning a small cut across the shoulder.

"So did I but as soon as I get in the car that's supposed to take me home, next thing I know I'm blacking out. When I opened my eyes, I was here. Now stay still you little shit so that I can kill you."

Percy dodged his blow again and then countered with his first offensive strike of the fight, slashing at his knees. "I feel like I keep having to repeat myself but I don't plan on dying today." If this had been a poem, them the volta would have been in that moment. Taking the offensive side, Percy pressed forward like a demon forcing Ethan to stay defensive and defend against his steady blow of attacks.

His weakness was not the loss of his eye or his pride or his inability with the sword. Ethan's weakness was that which will take any good soldier: exhaustion. Even though Percy had just fought a psychotic woman and her pet robotic dog/lion/snake thingy, he at least had a few moments of break and was able to wolf down a couple protein bars. He didn't have the constant idea of being imprisoned beating on his brain like it was for Ethan. Ethan had been fighting the nervous breakdown for a while now and between the exhaustion and the psychological dilemma, he was on his last string of sanity. And as much as Percy hated to do it, he took advantage of it.

He needed to end this fight.

The moment Ethan took a step back to regain his breath, Percy kicked the legs out from under him and sent him toppling to the ground. He stood over him, sword in hand. "Are we done now?" Percy asked. The cheering of the crowd which Percy had seemed to forget about during the fight was all too real in this moment.

"Kill me," Ethan coughed. Percy's eyes shot open.

"What?"

"Kill me. It's the only way you'll get out of here and the only way I'll get out of here. I'll never be able to kill anyone… I've tried. I really have but I can't bring myself to do it. So you kill me and know that it's a mercy killing, that I _begged_ you to do it. You won't have to live with the guilt." Percy felt his gut twist and turn.

"I couldn't do that. Ethan we played capture the flag together man! Come on, I'll get us out of here. Annabeth's here and all we need to do is find her. I'm sure she's got a brilliant plan to blow this place up and then we'll walk out of here like heroes in the movies. Come on," he extended his hand to Ethan.

The crowd roared in disapproval.

"What are you doing!" A voice boomed over the whole arena. "Compassion is strictly against the rules of the game!"

"They're making our lives into games Ethan but we don't have to accept it."

Ethan shook his head and gave Percy a weak smile. "You know there was always something special about you kid. I knew it the moment you came running through the woods without a shirt on. You're going to save us all. You're going to be the hero." He let out a heavy sigh and wiped the blood from off his face. "I always wanted to be the hero but I was always stuck in someone's shadow."

"So then come be a hero. Come on," Percy was almost ready to start begging.

"No," Ethan shook his head. "I'm no hero. I've learned that. But maybe I can help you get out of this place and then when people ask how you did it, you can tell them Ethan Nakamura was one to help." And then he lunged for Percy's sword, grabbing it with his hands and then…

Percy quickly turned away.

There was no scream. Not even a moan. When he turned back around, Ethan lay crumpled at his feet.

A deadly blow.

The crowd roared in approval.

"And we have a winner! Perseus Jackson has defeated Ethan Nakamura."

Percy stared at the body wide eyed.

He felt hands at his arms, pulling him away from Ethan. A hulking man walked over and picked up the lifeless body. "I didn't kill him," he muttered to himself as he was dragged across the arena to a set of doors. "I swear I didn't kill him." Nevertheless he felt the guilt rising within him.

"There's a dead body on the ground and blood on your sword. That's good enough for the masses," a voice whispered in his ear. "Now keep quiet." Percy cocked his head to the side to see the girl who had been fighting earlier holding him by the armpits and pulling him toward the gate which was now opening to reveal two new fighters. "Your conscience isn't going to help anyone around here."

Behind the gate was a waiting room. And by waiting room he meant exactly that. It looked like a doctor's waiting room complete with uncomfortable chairs and awful paintings on the walls. Kids were milling around, slouched in chairs, lying on the carpet. Some were at the water tank, filling up small plastic cups with water. Others had pushed chairs together to form a bed in order to catch a few moments of sleep. A few were even thumbing through magazines.

But there was a heavy tension in the air. All eyes would flicker to one of the numerous TV screens throughout the room where it flashed names and numbers. The girl—Zoë if Ethan was correct—led him to one of the corners where the chairs had been pushed together in a small circle and someone had found a blanket and thrown it over them in order to fashion a makeshift shelter. "After you." Percy crouched down and crawled through the tiny opening of the fort. If it had been in any other situation he would have laughed, feeling like a little kid once again. But after what had happened in the arena, Percy felt like anything but a child.

After he had managed to situate himself in a semi comfortable position (which was difficult being that his back was hunched over so much), Percy looked at Zoë for answers. "So why haven't I left this place. Ethan died right? I get to move on. Those are the rules."

The girl sighed. "First of all, introductions. I'm Zoë Nightshade."

"Percy Jackson. Now please explain to me where the hell I am because I'm about to lose any previous notions I had of self control if someone doesn't start giving me some answers. Today I've seen the body of one girl I knew mauled to death and another person I knew just committed suicide right in front of me. I'm not in the mood for games."

"Then you're out of luck. That's how these people work. It's all games, tests, statistics, probability. It's about weeding out the weak. I've been here for over a year. Trapped in these layers of hell. Each level of PAIL is a different test designed to pick out the strongest of us. The fastest, the smartest, the best. If you fail you don't get a do over. You die." Zoë glanced down at her nails. "I've watched so many kids die before my eyes that it's a miracle I haven't lost it myself. Sometimes I wonder though. I wonder if I've just dreamed it all but I never wake up.

"I never was sent to Goode like the rest of you. I'm almost twenty. My father was a dangerous criminal who is now stuck in prison for life doing back breaking labor. My mother died and my sisters kicked me out of our family home because of a guy. We were gardeners of a sort but I suppose it was never really my lifestyle in the first place. So as soon as I turned eighteen I joined the army and got the hell out of dodge. I hated it. But at the same time, I liked doing something that helped people. It was as if I could prove my worth.

"My company was an experiment. We were all girls and we reported under a young woman named Artemis. She was phenomenal in combat, you should have seen her. I was promoted to second in command after the girl who originally held that position couldn't take it anymore and shot herself in the foot. We called ourselves the Hunters of Artemis and as someone who never had a real family before, I craved the camaraderie we all had. I never trusted boys after the problem with my sisters so these girls… we were closer than blood. But then when we were reporting back to base for medical examinations and such, PAIL showed up. They claimed I had all the patterns of Bipolar Disorder. I have a tendency to have bad mood swings every once and a while. They said that somehow the doctors must have missed it when testing me. Next thing I know, I'm being shipped out and sent home.

"Only I never get home. I wind up here. I've seen monsters you can only dream about. Only they're not imaginary… they're _human_. Because the worst monster of all is human kind. I ended up here after days traversing through different levels. And I've been here ever since. I refuse to kill another soul."

She looked up at him with solemn eyes which looked thousands of years old. "Your friend died for nothing. You don't get out of here alive. Antaeus' controls the doors to get out and he won't let you out unless you kill. He lives off of bloody fights and he'll keep you here if you're a good fighter no matter how many people you refuse to kill, no matter how many fights you throw. He'll keep you fighting until you succumb to the exhaustion just as your friend did out there. He's a bloody coward who sits up in that box and lords over the place like a giant. I wish I could kill him." A murderous look crept across his face. "They tell you you'll get out if you kill your opponent and the funny thing is… you _believe_ it because the human mind will do anything just to have a little hope. In reality, all you do is go deeper into the hell which this place is. And you slowly find yourself going insane. And you miss the sun and you miss the warmth and you miss the stars." She let out a wistful sigh. "By the gods, you find yourself missing the stars."

"Look, I've got a girlfriend I've got to find. Her name's Annabeth. We've got some pretty rough… history you could say and I'm not letting some pompous ass keep me away from her. So you're going to tell me everything you know about this place so that I can bust all of us out of here."

Zoë looked at him, a smile creeping across her face. She brushed strands of her hair from her eyes and then nodded, "I'm not a big fan of men, but I like your fire kid. I'll help you. In a few minutes, they'll come and collect you and present you before Antaeus as a victor. Afterwards you will be able to leave the arena." She held out her hand and Percy shook it. "Just don't expect me to seal the deal with a kiss."

**AThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYearsAThousandYears**

"Perseus Jackson please report to the doors for the upcoming celebration and congratulations victor!" The automated voice announced over the speaker. Everyone turned to look at Percy as he stared at the flashing red clock above the steel doors. Zoe nudged him forward and gave him a slight nod of her head, her dark eyes flashing. But before he could reach the door, she grasped his arm.

"I do not often compliment the opposite sex Perseus Jackson. I have been hurt by them one too many times. But when I meet men like you, you remind me that there are still valiant heroes among a sea of cowardly boys. Know that I have your back until the death." She gazed at him with those eyes which seemed far older than the oceans and far more knowledgeable than the moon and its wisdom. "You are a hero Perseus Jackson. Live like one."

Percy swallowed the lump which had lodged itself in his throat and nodded. The doors beeped and swung open. Two children were dragged in, one passed out from exhaustion and the other covered in her own vomit. Percy allowed himself no more than a few moments to glance at them before steeling his face and walking into the blazing lights.

He was half dragged, half escorted into the center of the arena. His attention was instantly drawn to the gigantic form of a man who sat on the balcony, lording over the battles below. He was easily one of the tallest men Percy had ever seen and covered in rippling muscles which made the guy who was in Terminator look like one of those nerds that get dunked in the toilets in school. His skin was tinted a shade of red and tattooed with blue wave designs.

"Welcome victor!" His voice boomed over the whole arena as all those in the stands quieted to a dull roar. There were men in suits and dark sunglasses, women with horrific hats and wrinkled skin, and doctors in lab coats and clipboards. All of them had been cheering, cheering for the death of children. The feeling of a stomach twisted in knots was becoming all too familiar for Percy by this point in time.

The giant man rose from his seat and walked to the edge of the balcony. "We celebrate the victory of my brother today," the giant exclaimed with a crooked grin upon his face.

"Brother?" Percy yelled back. "I'm pretty sure that I'm not your brother."

The giant laughed. "Of course you are. We came from the same DNA. Half brothers of course but our fathers are one in the same. Of course we have incredibly different traits and purposes. You are a bit more on the… small side but that can't be helped. You gave us good entertainment Perseus Jackson but I am the better son. I could crush your skull between my fingers."

"Pretty sure that is physically impossible but if you want to think that then be my guest!" Percy called. "Now what's this about being related?" He was confused as to how he could be related to this monster.

"We are not so different you and I. Both experiments, products of science. But just as it is always with evolution, the strongest get stronger. And I am the stronger one in this case." Percy was beginning to feel like a lab experiment with the language Antaeus was using to describe the two of them.

But honestly, he needed to get that old wrinkled bat he had for freshman biology in here and teach people just what the purpose of scientific experiment was because as far as Percy was sure, it did not involve a pseudo Hunger Games.

"If you believe that you are so much better than I am then come and fight me!"

For the first time, the arena was completely silent. Antaeus cracked his knuckles. "You don't want to do that son of Poseidon." _Poseidon_? He'd have to figure out what that meant later. "I am the greatest wrestler in the world. I was created to be like those from the first _pankration_!"

Percy must have looked confused because one of the people who had dragged him out into the arena leaned in. "He means fighting to the death. No rules. No holds barred. It used to be an Olympic sport."

"Sounds like fun," Percy yelled at Antaeus. He pointed his sword at the giant. "Winner takes all! I win, we all—every one of us you've forced to play your sick game—goes free. You win, I die and everyone stays. Swear that you'll agree to the conditions."

Antaeus laughed. "This shouldn't take long. I swear to your conditions."

He leaped from the railing into the arena.

Percy automatically went to cover his eyes. "Dude! Is that a diaper?" He asked.

Antaeus glowered at him. "It is a loincloth. They told me I was not allowed to dress like the original Greek wrestlers so I have taken up the fashion of the great warriors from Japan."

"Not my first choice but whatever floats your boat."

Antaeus cracked his knuckles again and grinned. He ever had a wavey pattern on his teeth which must have made brushing a difficulty. Percy would love to have a chat with this dude's dentist.

"Your choice of weapon son of Poseidon?" The giant asked.

"I'll stick with my sword," Percy responded, brandishing Riptide. "You?"

The giant grinned and held up his beefy hands. His muscles seemed to ripple when he moved his arms. "I won't need anything else to rip you limb from limb. And then they will know that it was I, Antaeus son of Poseidon, who slew the great Perseus Jackson."

And then he lunged.

There was no "Go!" or green light, no whistle or flag. One moment Percy had been standing up right and the next he was rolling out of the way as the giant man flung himself at him. He slashed at the back of his legs and the giant let out a great moan. Where there should have been blood, Percy was surprised to see a strange goldish red trickle from the gash as if a kindergartener in a sparkly fairy costume had accidentally dumped a thing of glitter into Antaeus' blood system.

"Dude what did you do? Was your mother a fairy or something?" Percy asked as the blood spilled onto the dirt floor.

"It is a gift from those in charge, designed for only the greatest of the great. My blood carries regenerative properties which mere mortals do not possess."

He charged again. Percy dodged sideways this time and stabbed under the arm but Antaeus swung out of the way. The giant was surprisingly agile for a being of his size and stature.

As Percy moved to the offensive and pressed forward, aiming his sword stroke toward Antaeus' leg again, he miscalculated and was flung across the arena. Riptide flew from his hand and he groaned as his body his the side of the arena with a sickening thud. That was definitely going to leave a mark. He hoped that Annabeth didn't mind.

He tried to skirt around him but Antaeus anticipated the move and blocked his path, chuckling. Percy felt the fury rise in him when he realized that the giant was merely toying with him now.

Percy looked up at the chains which were dangling from the ceiling, trying to ignore the fact that on the end of each chain was a skull. Some were gleaming white, others were a crumbling yellow.

He feinted to the other side, Antaeus blocked him again.

"Puny boy," he said. "You are not worthy of their attention, not worthy of their praise. Not worthy of being the hero."

Percy charged straight ahead, crouching low. He jumped, channeling every gym class he had ever had and every coach which yelled at him to bend his knees a little more, kicking off his arm and then jumping on top of his head just as he had seen in all of those kick ass movies. He caught the top of the chain, and the skull and hooks jangled beneath him. He wrapped a leg around the chain, just like he did in one of the obstacle courses Hedge made them do.

"Coward! You flee from a fight? Get down here!" Antaeus bellowed. He tried to grab for the chain but Percy had scrambled just out of reach, dangling precariously from the ceiling. "Come up and get me! Or are you too slow and fat?"

Apparently it wasn't only women who got insulted when one mocked their weight. Antaeus howled and caught a chain, trying to pull himself up. While he was struggling, Percy reached for a nearby chain and drew it near to him, kicking the skull off from the hook. He then wrapped his hand snuggly in the chain he was holding onto and leaned forward, attempting to snag Antaeus' loincloth with the hook of the other chain. It took a couple tries, but he finally snagged it.

Antaeus bellowed once again, trying to slip to the ground but the chain held. He gripped onto nearby chains to keep from being flipped upside down and Percy said a prayer of thanks that the chains were so thick and the hooks so strong. He swung from chain to chain like a maniac monkey before catapulting onto the balcony where Antaeus had previously sat. "Free me!" Antaeus yelled.

"Oh I'll free someone all right but it won't be you!" His fist slammed down on a large red button. He wasn't sure exactly what it would do but he always had an attraction to shiny red buttons and figuring out what pressing them did.

The doors on the opposite side of the arena swung open and Percy grinned as the host of children emerged, eyes bright and their hands gripping their weapons. "Guards!" Antaeus cried and suddenly an opposite pair of doors flew open and the arena was filled with men in uniform. "Stop them! And free me!" The men lined up, weapons at the ready.

"I'll take care of that," a strong and clear voice rang out.

Zoe stepped forward, a bow in hand. With a quick movement, she released an arrow which embedded itself in Antaeus' skull.

He hung up there among the grinning skulls. And he stopped screaming.

"Go Perseus Jackson!" Zoe called to him. "Go and be the hero you were born to be."

Percy heard the soldiers ready their guns and his eyes met one more time with Zoe Nightshade's dark eyes. She saluted him and then nodded.

Turning to run, he heard her command of attack.

But right as he reached the door, he paused when he heard the gunfire.

He flung open the door and stumbled out, his chest burning. Hot tears splashed down his face.

Because if history had proven one thing it was that a sword was useless against gunfire.

And that Zoe Nightshade would die without one last glance at the stars.

**Some of the descriptions of Antaeus and this chapter were taken from Rick Riordan's ****_The Battle of the Labyrinth._**** As this is a fanfiction I feel as if it's okay to go back to the original source material.**

**Read and Review and message me any questions. Also check out my other story and one-shots.**


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